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AUTOBIOGRAPHY 



e_£^ 



DE. J. J. POLK 



10 WHICH IS ADDED HIS 



OCCASIONAL WRITINGS 



AND 



BIOGRAPHIES OF WORTHY MEN AND WOMEN 
OF BOYLE COUNTY, KY. 



For none of lis liveth to himself, and no man dieth. to himself. ' Kom. xi , 



LOUISVILLE, KY: 

PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY JOHN P. MORTON AND COMPANY. 
1867. 



p^ 






TO 

Rev. H. C. NORTHCOTT, 

OF SHELBYVILLE, KY., 
AND 

Rev. JOHN G. BRUCE 

AND 

Mr. GARRETT CLARKSON 

OF BOYLE COUNTY, KY., 

THIS VOLU ME 

■ IS 

MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 

AS 

AN HUMBLE TRIBUTE OF RESPECT 

TO EACH OF THEM AS 

CHRISTIAN GENTLEMEN. 



PREFACE. 



The life of an individual, when written by him- 
self, becomes public property. Its truthfulness or its 
falsity is to be judged of by those with whom he has 
been intimately associated. His thoughts are private 
property ; but, when published, are open to the criti- 
cism, approving or condemnatory, of the reader. 
His life may be a plain statement of facts ; his 
thoughts are but the emanations of an active mind, 
impelled by the uncontrollable influences of prepos- 
session and education. These facts and thoughts, in 
conjunction, make the whole character of the man. 

The following history of an humble individual 
was written some years since, and intended rather 
as a diary for private reference than as an autobiog- 
raphy for publication. But, at the solicitations of 
many esteemed friends, he has consented to give it 
form, and bring it before an indulgent public, with 
the hope that it may do good, or at least be pre- 
served by his children as a sacred memento of a life 
endeared to them by parental affection. 

The author does not indulge the hope that his 
life can become of general interest to the reading 



6 PREFACE. 

public, as it is merely local in its facts and applica- 
tion ; but rather that it may give pleasure to a small 
circle of friends with whom he has been intimately 
associated for half a century. 

The Sketches which he has added were written, 
some of them when the incidents alluded to had 
been long past, and others when they were of recent 
occurrence. As some of them, therefore, were 
penned from the recollection of events that had 
occurred years before, they may be slightly incor- 
rect in dates and some few unimportant particulars, 
but in the main they are correct and reliable. 

He wrote the Biographies, long subsequent to the 
death of the individuals themselves, as tributes of 
respect to their memory, believing that they would 
possess an interest for their relatives who are still 
living, and might perhaps furnish profitable exam- 
ples to persons who were Avholly unacquainted with 
them. 



CONTENTS. 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

PART I. — Ancestry, account of — Removal to the colonies — 
Settlement in Delaware — Change of name — American 
freedom, devotion to — Father's removal to Kentucky — 
Dangers from Indians — Locates on Lane's Run — Eldest 
son drowned — The author born 11 

PART II.— First recollections— Hatred of kings— War of 
1812— Death of author's father 14 

PART III. — Apprenticeship — Religious convictions — Fin- 
ishes his trade at Lexington — Escapes the seductions of 
bad women 18 

PART IV. — Reading valuable books — Wife, first acquaint- 
ance with — Her parents — Religious impressions — Con- 
nection with the church — Thomas T, Skillman, his char- 
acter — John M. Hewitt — Aaron Keiser, colored man — 
Marriage — Commences keeping house — Visits to the 
sick 22 

PART V. — Desire to become a physician — First child 
born — Removes to Danville — Purchase of Olive Branch 
office — New and old court question — J. Q. Adams elected 
president — Espouses the cause of Mr. Clay — Religious 
labors 28 

PART VI. — Sale of printing office — Becomes a book mer- 
chant — Increase of family — Death of third son — Cholera 
in 1833 — J. G. Birney, the abolitionist — Prevents a mob — 
Becomes an editor again — Sale of book-store — Removes 
to a farm — Licensed to preach — Studies medicine — Com- 
mences the practice 32 



8 CONTENTS. 

PART VII. — Eemoves to Perry ville — Church at Thomas 
Moorman's — Popularity as a physician — Increase of 
family — Sycamore meeting-house — Success^; as^ physi- 
cian — Enters into partnership with Dr. W. T. Polk — 
Antioch Church 38 

PART VIII.— Trial by committee of church — Presidential 
election, 1860 — Loyalty to the goveimmeut — Assistance 
to Union soldiers — Battle of Perryville, 1862 — House a 
hospital — Appointed surgeon — First spell of sickness — 
His assistance sought by rebels — Votes for Mr. Lincoln, 
1864 — Appointed postmaster 43 

PART IX. — Devotion to temperance cause — Devotion to 
Sons of Morality — Devotion to emancipation Avith colo- 
nization — Devotion to abolition of Sunday mails 47 

DRAMA OF LIFE. 

A true picture 49 

The place where I was born : 51 

SKETCHES. 

Lexington 57 

The Market-place 61 

"The City of the Dead" 63 

Harrodsburg 66 

Perryville 68 

Danville 71 

A Comparison 74 

Fable No. 1 75 

Fable No. 2 76 

General Speed S. Fry 77 

Southern Rights 78 

The First Temperance Society in Perryville 80 

Methodists 81 

Natural Phenomenon 83 



CONTENTS. 9 

Letter to President Johnson ^.... 84 

Facts for History 91 

Perryville National Cemetery 98 

Methodist Church in Danville 101 

Methodist Church in Perryville 105 

Woman's Rights 107 

Man's Rights , 108 

Children's Rights 109 

Thrilling Incident Ill 

Battle of the Boards 113 

Glad I OAvned no Horse 115 

Drunkard's Dream 119 

The only Ghost I ever saw 121 

Love Powders 123 

The Devil in his True Form 129 

REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

Chapter I. — Union is strength 133 

Chapter II. — Blessed are the peace-makers 136 

Cpiapter III. — Have we a government 138 

Chapter IV. — What the North has done for the South 141 

Chapter "V. — Iniquity of slavery 142 

Chapter VI. — Early impressions about slavery 144 

Chapter VII. — Emancipation of the slaves 146 

Chapter VIII. — John Wesley an abolitionist 148 

Chapter IX. — Compromise about slavery 150 

Chapter X. — Freedom of speech and the press 153 

Chapter XI. — The Devil in the preachers '. 155 

Chapter XII. — A brave rebel 157 

Chapter XIII. — True line of policy toward rebels 159 

Chapter XIV. — Early temperance principles 162 

Chapter XV. — On rearing children 163 

Chapter XVI. — Misguided parents 166 

Chapter XVII. — Mode of raising good children 169 



10 CONTENTS. 

Chapter XVIII. — Democratic institutions 172 

Chapter XIX. — Love of woman 174 

Chapter XX. — Mercy toward animals 177 

Chapter XXI. — "Know thyself" 179 

Chapter XXII. — Early rising 182 

Chapter XXIII. — The wise man's testimony 184 

Chapter XXIV. — Modern date of improvements 187 

Chapter XXV. — Past, present, and future 189 

Chapter XXVI. — Croakers 192 

Chapter XXVII. — Rebels more industrious than Union 

men 193 

Chapter XXVIII. — The right to an opinion 196 

Chapter XXIX. — Summing up of foregoing chapters 197 

BIOGRAPHIES. 

Uncle Ben. Durham 199 

Low Sutfield 200 

Carter Tadlock 210 

Dr. Nelson Crane 212 

Miss Polly Bradburn 215 

Duncan F. Robertson 217 

Aunt Tabitha Cocke 220 

Mrs. Margaret Fulkerson 223 

Death's Doings 225 

Mrs. Agnes Tilford 226 

John Tompkins 228 

Thomas Prewett 230 

Dr. John 't'leece 233 

Thomas Durham 235 

Jeremiah Briscoe 237 

Samuel McGinnis , 238 

Book of Proverbs 241 

Statistical Table 255 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 



PART I. 

Traditional account of ancestry— Their removal to the Ameri- 
can Colonies— Settlement in Delaware— Change of name— 
Their patriotism and devotion to the cause of American 
freedom— Father s removal to Kentucky— Exposure to dan- 
gers from Indians— Settlement at Bryant's Station— 1786, 
located on Lane's Run— Hostile Indians in the neighbor- 
hood—Increase of family-Eldest brother drowned— The 
author born. 

Tradition says that, toward the end of the six- 
teenth century, Ephraim Pollok, a plain, honest 
man, lived in the south of Scotland, near the English 
border. He was a Roundhead, and as such was 
persecuted when the Anglican Church was in the 

ascendancy. 

The American Colonies were just then receiving 
accessions to their- population from the mother coun- 
try. Ephraim had long sighed for freedom— free- 
dom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from 
kingly power. Therefore, with his own and other 
families, he made a hasty preparation, and embarked 
for the eastern shores of America. They landed 



12 AUTOBIOGRAniY. 

safely, after a perilous voyage, at the point in Dela- 
ware where Georgetown now stands, and immediately 
busied themselves in preparing a home. 

Shortly after his arrival in America, he dropped 
the letters l-o from his name, and from that time his 
proper cognomen became POLK. This change may 
have been accidental, but it was most probably de- 
signed. 

In his new home his family increased in number, 
and enjoyed all the sweets of domestic happiness. 
At his death, his youngest son, who was also named 
Ephraim, became possessor of the old manor-house. 
He married and became the father of four sons and 
two dauii'hters. Like his father, he was for the 
times a rich man. His youngest son he likewise 
named Ephraim. 

He had scarcely seen all the members of his fiim- 
ily reach the years of maturity before the struggle 
between the colonies and the mother country began. 
At the first sound of war, father and sons flew 
to arms in defense of their homes. Through the 
whole contest they bore unflinchingly their full share 
of dangers and privations; and by their daring and 
personal sacrifices won unfading laurels. 

Victory^had hardly crowned our arms and peace 
been declared, w^hen the family was scattered, each 
member of it seeking a new home. A number of 
them came to the West, to peril their lives again in 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 13 

a war with the red men of the forest. ]\Iy father, 
Ephraim, jr., was among the emigrants. After a 
tedious and dangerous journey, three families arrived 
at what was then called Limestone — now Maysville — 
in the then Territory of Kentucky. Following the 
most direct trail of emigration — the path made by 
the wild buffalo as he moved from the Ohio to the 
saline regions of the interior — they found their way 
to Bryant's Station, near Lexington. Here sepa- 
rated those who had traveled together eight hundred 
miles on a flat-boat, and many miles through un- 
broken forests. 

My father moved north-east ; and in the year 
1786 located on Lane's Run, in Scott County, five 
miles east of where Georgetown now stands. The 
family at that time consisted of father, mother, and 
one daughter. Hostile Indians were frequently seen 
in the neighborhood, and about the time of his settle- 
ment there murdered two members of a family liv- 
ing a mile from his house, and carried the remaining 
two into captivity. One of these, a woman, having 
made her escape some time afterward, returned to 
the neighborhood; the fate of the other was never 
known. As soon as it was known that the murder 
had been committed, pursuit was made, but without 
overtaking the savages. Their danger from that 
source was now at an end, but new hardships arose 
from another quarter. The dense forests were to 



14 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

be cleared, and the virgin soil prepared, before 
proper sustenance could be obtained for the family. 
Soon the parents were blessed with another daugh- 
ter, then a third, and afterward a son. When two 
years had elapsed, a deep gloom was thrown around 
them by the accidental drowning of this son in a 
spring, near the house. Another son was given 
them in place of the one that was taken — Jefferson 
J. Polk— born March 10, 1802. 



PART II. 

First recollections — Father's implacable hatred of kings and 
kingly power — Teaching his children — Makes them pledge 
fidelity to the Government and Constitution of the United 
States and to Mr. Jefferson's administration — Preparations 
for the war of 1812 — Father determines to join the army — 
His death — Sorrow of the family — Determination of the au- 
thor to learn a trade. 

My first recollections of parental government and 
teachings commenced at six years of age. My father, 
still bearing implacable hatred to kings and kingly 
power, took great pains to instill the same spirit into 
the minds of his sons. His leisure hours and the 
long winter evenings were employed in rehearsing 
the conflicts between the Whigs and the Tories, and 
in giving an account of the hard-fought battles in 
which he and his brothers had participated during the 
Revolutionary War. He was very particular to make 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 15 

his sons pledge fidelity to the goverament, constitu- 
tion, and laws of the United States, and especially to 
Mr. Jefferson's administration. Taught by such a 
father, and imbibing such principles, it might reason- 
ably be expected that my infant mind would be com- 
pletely Americanized. Love of country, hatred of 
George III., of British red-coats, and of American 
aboric'ines, were the first emotions of mv Touncr and 
patriotic heart. 

Only a few years passed before I witnessed in 
person the dialling of soldiers for another sanguinary 
conflict with the British and Indians. I was then ten 
years old. The history of that struggle need not be 
given here. I remember that every success of the 
American arms was a matter of joy and thanksgiving 
in my father's family. The crowning victory was 
the battle of Xew Orleans ; and the news of Jackson's 
triumph over Packenham determined my father to 
join the southern army in the spring. He set about 
makinor suitable preparations for the intended cam- 
paign ; but Providence interposed, and before the 
middle of March, 1815, the disease called the cold 
plague deprived the army of an experienced soldier 
and the family of its head. His illness was short, 
and the announcement came unexpected from the 
good man who stood over him — *• He is dead I * '" In 
that sad hour I turned to my mother — she was in 
tears. I turned to sisters, brothers — all were weep- 



16 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

ing. I left the house, and composed myself as best 
I could under the ch*cumstances. It was the first 
death I had ever witnessed. 

After the funeral rites had been performed, the 
family — six sons and five daughters — consulted and 
agreed that the boys — none of us over sixteen years 
of age — should clear the estate of debt (about two 
hundred and fifty dollars), and build our mother a 
comfortable dwelling. In accomplishing this work 
we were counseled and greatly assisted by the same 
good man who closed our father's eyes in death. 
Having in two years accomplished the work, my 
eldest brother and myself determined to attend, for 
a short time, the neighborhood school, and after 
acquiring the rudiments of an English education, to 
leave home and learn trades. 

My first day^s experience as a school-boy is still 
fresh in my memory. The school-house was an. old 
log building, situated in a thick forest. Entering the 
room, the great object of interest to my eyes was 
the school-master, an old and infirm man, seated 
with ruler in hand at one end of the apartment, 
beneath a rack in which lay a number of tough, 
seasoned switches — the emblems of one part at least 
of his daily duties. As it was the first day of the 
session, he read his rules. They seemed to my mind 
unused as I was to school-life, to demand implicit 
obedience, and so terrified me that I turned my head 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 17 

neither to the right nor left, but kept my eyes fixed 
for the most part upon my book, occasionally indulg- 
ing in a sly glance from under my brows at the 
teacher and my neighbor on either side. As I saw 
the latter gazing round with impunity, I soon became 
bolder, and allowed my eyes, once in a while, to rove 
from the task that was spread before me. Not- 
withstanding this, I was regarded as a good boy. 
Although during "play-time" I entered into the 
sports with zeal, and generally excelled, I was 
always a favorite with my companions, and never 
permitted my play to interfere with my studies. 
Commencing at the alphabet, I studied with such 
diligence that on the following day I was able to 
spell, and in one week could read with tolerable 
fluency in Webster's SjjeUing-hook. In a compara- 
tively short time I was able to read one of Colonel 
R. M. Johnson's speeches in Congress (one of the 
reading books of the school). At the end of three 
months I quit school. 

It was but a short time until my mother carried 
me to Georgetown. As we stood by the counter of 
one of the stores a tall, gray-haired man entered, and 
approaching us said : " Madam, is this your son ? " 
Upon her answering affirmatively, " Let me," said the 
gentleman, " make a printer of him." This proposal 
startled me. My mother objected that my educa- 
tion was insufficient. What, thought I, the ignorant, 

2 



18 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

raw country boy, used only to chopping cord-wood, 
working in a brick-yard, and tilling the soil, make a 
printer ! Impossible ! The gentleman urged his re- 
quest, and the bargain was made before we returned 
home. 



PART III. 

Apprenticeship commences — Incident the second Sabbath — 
First religious impressions — Progress as a printer — Services 
rigorous — Indenture for seven years — Letter of recommend- 
ation — Finishes his trade at Lexington — First night in that 
city — Escape from the seductions of bad women. 

At the age of fourteen a new era in my life com- 
menced. After having been accustomed in child- 
hood to parental government and the labors of a 
farm, I was now, w^ith a very limited education, in- 
dentured for seven years to Colonels R. M. and 
James Johnson to learn the art and trade of print- 
ing. These gentlemen were the owners of the 
Georgetown Patriot office — Major William Sebree, 
the editor. With much trembling I now stood be- 
fore the printer's case, and commenced composing. 
Fear of the foreman's displeasure kept me dili- 
gently at work. A week passed, and I returned 
home to report progress. On Monday morning 
I was again in my place, with the hope that I should 
be able to accomplish my undertaking. I deter- 
mined to learn. 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 19 

On the Sunday following an incident occurred 
that shaped greatly my future life. I was in the 
market-house indulging in a game of marbles with 
boys of opposite colors. The foreman of the office 
passing by took me by the arm, and lifted me out of 
the dust, saying: "Never let me find you in such 
company again. You shall go to church once every 
Sunday." From that day forward I touched not 
marbles, but went to church, and tried to keep good 
company. 

About this time Henry McDaniel, of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church, preached statedly at George- 
town. He was a " son of thunder." His zeal and 
earnestness shook the sandy foundations of the 
most wicked, and even the hearts of the youth. 
I was brought under conviction by his preaching. 
I managed to conceal my true feelings, but sought 
secret places and poured out my soul in prayer to 
God. Many noticed my seriousness and altered de- 
meanor; but having no one to unbosom myself to 
or guide me, I soon shook off my guilty fears. 
I, however, remembered the oft-repeated prediction 
of my mother, "that I would one day become a 
preacher." 

I toiled on, and soon found that my new position 
would eventuate in the enlightenment of my mind, 
and fit me perhaps for a higher sphere in life. 
Three years elapsed, and I was a passable printer 



20 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

for a newspaper office. My service was rigorous, I 
being frequently compelled to spend gleepless nights 
in order, in the morning, to give the latest news to 
patrons. My indenture ran for seven years, but the 
paper was discontinued at the end of three years, and 
a release was offered me, with a letter of recommend- 
ation to all editors and printers. This I readily ac- 
cepted, and went forth, without money or decent 
apparel, but proud as any other lord of creation. 

I traveled to diflferent towns in search of employ- 
ment, and after several months of idleness, during 
which my one suit of jeans was worn threadbare, 
found my way to the city of Lexington. Here I 
engaged with John Bradford, sen. (otherwise famil- 
iarly known by the appellation of '' Wisdom''), to 
assist him in his printing office, at three dollars per 
week and my board. The wages were small, but 
the truth is I was just then ready to work for my 
board alone. I did not profess to be an experienced 
printer, as it was against the rules of the craft for a 
journeyman to work at so cheap a rate. Hence, I 
was understood to be only finishing my trade. This 
occurred in the year 1820. I was then eighteen 
years of age. 

The first night of my sojourn in the city came 
very near stamping my character with infamy. 
I had never indulged in the use of ardent spirits; 
I was a stranger; and I found in the office journey- 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 21 

men who loved the '' flowing bowl." They presented 
me with a glass of cordial, and to appear manly I 
partook freely, not knowing its strength. Before 
nine o'clock I was so overcome that I could with 
difficulty reach my lodgings. In the morning I was 
myself again, and I resolved from then-ceforward to 
touch not, taste not. I kept my resolution. 

But danger soon came from another quarter. 
I was directed to a certain family where I could get 
some shirts made. When the work was done, I 
went to the house for them. This was my second 
visit. The young ladies treated me in such a 
familiar manner that my fears were aroused, and I 
came to the conclusion that a snare had been laid 
for me. I paid for the work and left, and deter- 
mined to keep myself aloof forever after from the 
seductions of bad women. 

I was soon able, from my short earnings, to clothe 
myself decently in a suit of jeans. I now sought 
the company of respectable women, and soon be- 
came a favorite with matrons and a few maidens. 
These were a safeguard to my morals. I talked 
with them at their homes ; I accompanied them to 
church; and, as the consequence of such associa- 
tions, now began to feel the desire, stronger than 
ever, to gain a name, and become a useful member 
of society. 



22 ' AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 



PART IV. 

Reading valuable books — Diligence in business — First ac- 
quaintance with my future wife — Character of her parents — 
Second deep religious impressions — Connection with the 
church — First public prayer — Attendance upon religious 
worship — Character of Thomas T. Skillman — John M. Hew- 
ett — A colored man, Aaron Keiser — 'Marriage — First attempt 
at house-keeping — Visits to the sick. 

I NOW ignored pleasure, and applied myself to the 
reading of useful books. Besides my daily reading 
as a printer, I borrowed and read many volumes 
during my leisure hours. While the journeymen 
in the office around me were eating, drinking, and 
sometimes dancing and swearing, I sat poring over 
^sop's Fables, the Spectator, Rollin's Ancient His- 
tory, Grecian and Roman Histories, and Homer's, 
Pope's, Dryden's, Goldsmith's, Burns's, Cowper's, 
Thomson's, Campbell's, and Young's poetical works. 
It is true I profited by this reading comparatively 
little, under the circumstances ; yet neither wealth 
nor honors could have purchased, at any period of 
my life, the pleasures I have derived from the above 
desultory reading. All the above poetical works I 
read more than once. 

"Diligence in business" was my motto. By it I 
kept my place in whatever printing office I entered. 
Whoever was dismissed, I was retained. Many 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 23 

wished to employ me. I changed employers, and 
became foreman of an office conducted by a Mr. 
Hunt. Here I met with difficulties, growing out of 
the jealousy of some of the journeymen who had 
been put under me. I managed to appease their 
hate and keep my place. 

At this period I visited some of my female ac- 
quaintances, and, as I accompanied two of them to 
their homes, we met a young lady, whose long black 
hair, falling in graceful ringlets upon her shoulders, 
and large dark eyes, and elegant form, caught my 
fancy. I inquired her name. My companions in- 
formed me her name was Miss Eliza Tod. I sought 
an introduction, and soon obtained it. I was pleased 
with my first, second, and third visits. I also sought 
and obtained the acquaintance of her parents. Her 
father was a native of Scotland, a man whose mind 
was stored with useful knowledge — the best historian 
of his day. His wife was a Scotch lady of surpass- 
ing good sense and beauty — both of them pious. 
I visited the family frequently, and soon made 
proffers of love to Miss Eliza. It was my first love. 
It was reciprocated ; and I now thought myself a 
happy man. 

At this time I became deeply concerned about 
my soul's salvation. I attended prayer-meetings, 
and went regularly to hear Rev. Spurlock, a Metho- 
dist minister stationed at Lexington, and Rev. 



24 AUTOBIOaRAPHY. 

Nathan Hall, then preaching for the First Presbyte- 
rian Church. My convictions deepened. Rev. G. C. 
Light succeeded Spurlock. In the month of March 
of the following year, I had come to the conclusion 
to join the Methodist Church. Soon an opportunity 
offered. I attended church on Sunday night, in 
company with my intended. The door of the church 
w^as opened, with a strong appeal to the serious, con- 
verted and unconverted, to enter. A young lady, 
another young man, and myself went forward and 
joined the church. The congregation was dismissed, 
and I sought Miss Tod; she had left. I required an 
explanation; it was satisfactory. 

Here I was committed before God and men to be 
religious. A new field opened before me — an oppor- 
tunity for such usefulness as had ever been the pre- 
vailing desire of my heart. I attended preaching in 
the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist Churches, 
and heard the discussions between the ministers of 
these several churches and Dr. Holly, President of 
Transylvania University, who taught a system of 
natural religion. I went to inquiry, class, and 
prayer-meetings, and received spiritual strength and 
comfort from the orthodox faith. I was soon able 
to apprehend and embrace the truth as it is in Jesus. 
I was able to say : " My sins are all forgiven ; Jesus 
is mine, and I am His." On the profession of this 
faith, -my mind, as was natural, turned to the home 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 25 

of my youth, kindred, and friends. I visited my 
mother's house in Scott County, and on Sunday 
went to Low Sutfield's, an old preaching stand. 
Rev. Thomas Rankin, an humble local preacher — 
since a member of the Kentucky Conference — took 
his text : " The Master has come and calleth for 
thee." His sermon was sensible, and delivered with 
power. At the close of the service I was called 
on to pray. I have never been able to call to mind 
one sentence I uttered in that prayer; but this I 
know, it was fervent, and with many tears. In the 
congregation there was much excitement. I set up 
a family altar in my mother's house ; and, after re- 
maining there a few days, returned to Lexington. 

I entered upon the active duties of Christianity — 
attended regularly upon the preaching of the Word 
of God, and was found every Sabbath evening at 
class. In the Sabbath-school of the Second Presb}^- 
terian Church I also taught a class of boys. I was 
thus thrown into an intimate relation with its pastor. 
Rev. John Breckinridge, from whose counsel and 
social instruction I received much benefit. The 
remainder of the Sabbath I spent in hunting for the 
poor and sick of the city, talking to them, and often 
praying with them. In this work I was greatly 
blessed. I soon became known among the poor. 
The sick and dying often sent for me, to receive the 
sympathy and counsel of one they loved. I could 



26 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

relate many interesting cases of conviction and con- 
version upon a dying bed. To God's name be all 
the glory! 

About this time I left the Monitor office, and 
assisted T. T. Skillman to print the Western Lumi- 
nary, the first organ of the Presbyterian Church 
established in Kentucky. Mr. S. also printed many 
religious tracts and books; among them Baxter's 
Saint's Rest, Call to the Unconverted, etc. He 
printed also a stereotyped edition of the Bible. 
This situation was both profitable and instructive to 
me ; for at this time I was very ignorant of relig- 
ious literature. I boarded in the family of Mr. S., 
and, as was his custom, he held family worship, 
praying himself in the morning, and calling upon 
me to pray at night. We often visited together the 
house of mourning and of death. 

"0, who can tell what sights he saw, what shapes 
Of wretchedness ? or who describe what smiles 
Of gratitude illumined the face of woe, 
As from his hands he gave the bounty forth?" 

Eternity alone will reveal the charities of Thomas 
T. Skillman. He was one of the small number I 
have met with in life whose heart and hand were 
ever ready for every good word and work. 

I must not omit to mention here another saint, 
who led me gently into paths of piety and peace — 
John M. Hewett, an Englishman, and an elder in 



AUTOBIOGEAPHY. 27 

the Baptist Church. With this pious father I often 
" took sweet counsel." I also derived spiritual com- 
fort from conversations with a pious slave, Aaron 
Keiser, a man whom I found to be a better divine 
than many who could boast a whiter skin. 

My matrimonial arrangements were now com- 
pleted, but my mind was much perplexed concern- 
ing this new responsibility that I was about to as- 
sume. I was to link with my own destiny on earth 
a young and fair being. Would she be happy or 
miserable? I was poor, and she had no fortune to 
offer. I frankly told her all. She, like myself, de- 
termined to meet whatever hardships might be before 
us with a stout heart and firm resolve. Accordingly, 
on the 10th. of September, 1823, our nuptial rites 
were solemnized. I v/orked in the printing office 
until twelve o'clock of the day on which I was married. 
After the w^edding, we made a visit to my mother; 
and on the Monday following I was found at my 
place as a journeyman printer. We boarded with 
my father-in-law about five months, at the end of 
which time I rented a house, and commenced house- 
keeping in an humble manner. If I was poor, I 
OAved no man any thing. 



28 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 



PART V. 

Continued visits to the sick — Desire to become a physician — 
Study of the symptoms of diseases at the sick-bed — First 
child born — Visits Danville and purchases the Olive Branch 
office — Prints the first number of his paper — New and Old 
Court Question — J. Q. Adams elected President — Espouses 
the cause of Mr. Clay — -Eeligious labors. 

House-keeping brought with it many phases of 
life to which I had heretofore been a stranger. My 
wife and I adapted ourselves to the circumstances 
under which we were placed, and consequently were 
happy. We performed our respective duties with 
cheerfulness. We retired to rest at a reasonable 
hour, and arose at early dawn. I hastened to my 
work in the office, and my wife to the preparation 
of such articles as were demanded by our new mode 
of life. In my new relation I found greater facili- 
ties for usefulness. I still continued my labors of 
visiting and praying with the sick and dying, often 
being called out in the night for this purpose. 

About this time I began to feel a strong desire to 
become a physician, believing that as such I could 
do good to both the souls and the bodies of men. 
But my poverty forbade that I should enter imme- 
diately upon the study of medicine. I, however, 
studied a.t the sick-bed the nature and symptoms 
of the various diseases which came under my 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 29 

observation. One thing I was particularly careful 
to do — to linger around the dying couch of the sick 
man, to see his last breath, and offer such consolation 
to the bereaved as my mind could suggest. 

One year and one month from the date of our 
marriage our family was increased by the birth of 
a daughter — Martha F. Polk, born the 15th day of 
October, 1824. Every young father has realized 
what I then felt. My steps were elastic, my spirits 
buoyant with pride, as we received the visits and 
congratulations of friends and neighbors. 

I was still a journeyman printer, and was neces- 
sitated by increasing expenses to seek a new home 
and permanent employment. Accordingly, in Feb- 
ruary, 1826, I visited Danville, Ky., and purchased 
the Olive Branch printing establishment of Mr. Ed- 
mund Shipp. I returned to Lexington, and made 
the necessary preparation for removal to my new 
home. Toward the end of March I reached Dan- 
ville with my family, and after a few days spent in 
the neighboring country with my brother-in-law, 
Mr. John Williamson — every thing having been ar- 
ranged — I printed the Olive Branch, a weekly polit- 
ical newspaper, on the first Saturday in April. 

At that time the State of Kentucky had just 
emerged from a heated political controversy, called 
the Old and New Court Question. Now that the 
old fires were burning low, another and a fiercer 



30 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

political controversy began to rage. Mr. Clay had 
voted in Congress for John Quincy Adams, in pref- 
erence to General Jackson, for President, and was 
appointed by Mr. Adams Secretary of State. "Bar- 
gain and corruption" were charged. In the midst 
of this great political excitement I issued my maiden 
sheet. Simultaneously with my new prospectus I 
cautiously took my position as an editor. The 
paper had previously been edited by a Jackson man ; 
its patrons, of course, were of the same politics. 
But the office had now changed hands, and I, being 
an admirer of Mr. Clay, espoused his cause. Al- 
though a partisan editor, I endeavored to make truth 
my guide and justice my aim. How far I succeeded 
will be apparent from the fact that, out of about 
four hundred and fifty subscribers under the edi- 
torial management of Mr. Shipp, I lost not more 
than thirty; and even these were trebly compen- 
sated for by new subscribers. 

Notwithstanding my arduous duties as an editor, 
L did not forget that I was a Methodist, and as such 
owed my first allegiance to God and his cause, but 
still found time to devote to the church, and con- 
tinue my visits to the sick and dying. My house 
became a home for itinerant preachers. I was ap- 
pointed class-leader of the church, and exercised 
my gift as an exhorter. Every week, and often 
three times a week, I held prayer-meetings, for seven 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 31 

years, and during the Avhole time continued regularly 
to issue the Olive Branch every Saturday morning. 
Besides, I visited quarterly and protracted meetings 
at Harrodsburg, Versailles, Stanford, Lancaster, and 
Hustonville, and annual camp-meetings at Pleasant 
Run and Durham's. This may be thought excessive 
labor for my delicate health, and so it was ; but God 
enabled me to perform it all, if not in the best man- 
ner, yet acceptably to the people for whom I labored. 
I seemed to be a favorite among all denominations 
of Christians; and my assistance in their worship 
was welcomed by Baptists, Presbyterians, and Cum- 
berland Presbyterians. Although in the midst of 
many preachers, I performed more burial services 
and visited more of the sick by special request than 
all of them. I preached funeral sermons of the 
good as well as the bad ; yet it was said I never 
committed myself as to the future state of either. 



32 AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 



PAKT VI. 

Sale of printing establishment — Becomes a book merchant — 
Increase of family — Death of son — Cholera in 1833 — Acts 
as physician — J. G, Birney, the Abolitionist — Pievents a 
mob — Becomes editor for fifteen months — Sale of book- 
store — Removed to a farm — Is licensed a preacher — Studies 
medicine — Commences practice — Predictions of his mother 
fulfilled. 

At the end of seven years I sold my printing es- 
tablishment, with the prospect of making greater 
gains as a book merchant. I consulted my friends, 
and all advised me to purchase the only bookstore 
then in Danville ; that I could not fail to make great 
profits, as Center College was in a flourishing con- 
dition, and I would have the whole trade in my own 
hands. The purchase was made. Fatal act. Done 
by the counsel of friends ! The books and station- 
ery invoiced four thousand six hundred dollars-^ 
most of the books of a miscellaneous character and 
unsalable. I soon saw my error, and hastened, if 
possible, to repair it by adding to my bookstore an 
assortment of drugs and medicines. This proved a 
more profitable investment. 

Within the past seven years, my family had 
been increased by three new members — William T., 
Ephraim J., and Jefferson B. — all three children of 
much promise in infancy. But here I was destined 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 33 

to pass under a dark cloud. The latter, Jefferson 
B., sickened and died. His disease was protracted 
hooping-cpugh. 'T deeply felt the blow, but endeav- 
ored to bow meekly to the will of Him who gave and 
had taken away. 

At this time, 1833, that erratic and awful scourge 
of nations, Asiatic cholera, traveled westward and 
southward from ports of the Atlantic, and reached 
Kentucky. Lexington, Lancaster, Springfield, Per- 
ryville, Harrodsburg, and Danville were visited by 
it in quick succession. In Lexington about five 
hundred of the inhabitants were cut off by it in four- 
teen days — among them my old friend Thomas T. 
Skillman. Lancaster and Springfield were nearly 
depopulated, either by the inhabitants fleeing from 
the destroyer or by their being cut down by it. While 
the disease was approaching Danville, great fear fell 
upon the people, and paleness spread over every face. 
The entire business of the place was suspended. 
All the inhabitants crowded to one place, and in- 
voked the mercy of Him " in whose hands are the 
issues of life and death." The profane swearer no 
longer uttered the blasphemous oath ; drunkards, 
with but few exceptions, abandoned their vicious 
course. Many prayers were made and vows re- 
peated then which, I fear, will stand as witnesses 
against those who uttered them in the judgment of 
the great day. But repentance and prayer did not 

3 



34 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

turn aside the pestilence. In the latter part of 
June it made its appearance in Danville, and in less 
than two weeks sixty-five of t\e.in4i'abitants were its'^ 
victims. It spared neither the high nor the low, the 
rich nor the poor. 

When it was known that the awful scourge w^as 
near there was a universal panic. I felt terror, and 
trembled like the inexperienced soldier who hears 
the report of the first gun that brings on the en- 
gagement ; and like the soldier, when the battle 
Avaxes warm, I, too, became courageous, and met the 
destroyer without faltering. I visited and prayed 
for the sick, and helped to coffin and bury* the dead. 
During the ravages of the disease, I for the first 
time acted as a physician, giving medicine to those 
who requested my aid. This was necessary, as the 
resident physicians either were sick or had fled. 
Through the whole dark period I was wonderfully 
sustained in perfect health. After the deadly pesti- 
lence had passed away, and health had been restored, 
Danville resumed its wonted smile and activity in 
business. 

My bookstore was like an incubus upon my pros- 
perity ; but through the sale of medicines and drugs 
my losses were greatly diminished. 

An incident occurred at this time which placed 
me again in the editorial chair. James G. Birney, 
Esq., employed S. S. Dismukes — the printer who 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 8d 

bought of me the Olive Branch office — to publish an 
Abolition paper. The populace Avere so incensed at 
the project that they appointed a day on which to 
destroy the press, and drive the editor and printer 
from the town. On the appointed morning the peo- 
ple assembled; but before the mob had organized I 
called on Mr. Dismukes and demanded of him the 
key of the office. As he had not paid me the pur- 
chase money, he complied with my demand. I went 
into the office and issued a card, informing the mul- 
titude that I was once more editor and proprietor of 
the Olive Branch. The crowd dispersed quietly, and 
Danville was thus freed from a disagreeable mob, 
and perhaps from bloodshed. Through the day 
many and cordial were the greetings I received from 
ladies and gentlemen, with proffers of pecuniary 
assistance. The press of Kentucky also welcomed 
my return to the editorial chair with eulogies upon 
my truthfulness and honesty as an editor. 

In this position I continued fifteen months, and 
then again sold the establishment, as my labors were 
too incessant, and my book and drug store was not 
remunerating me for my constant toil. I now 
determined to sell the latter also, and remove to a 
farm. My family was still increasing, as in the last 
four years a daughter and son — M. A. G. and J. M. 
Polk — had been added to it. I soon found a pur- 
chaser, and sold at a considerable sacrifice. I pur- 



36 AUTOBIoailAPHY- 

chased a farm in the neighborhood, and moved to it ; 
but had not been there long before I discovered, on 
investigating my affairs, that I was insolvent. It 
was now that the Quarterly Conference at Danville 
conferred upon me license to preach the Gospel. 
I immediately made appointments to preach twice 
every Sabbath, and frequently during the week 
officiated at funerals. 

Finding that I would be compelled to sell my 
farm, I now began to cast about for an occupa- 
tion that would enable me to pay the large debt 
against me, and support my growing family. For- 
tunately, -while I was an apothecary and book mer- 
chant, I had read law and medicine. My purpose 
was fixed — I would be a doctor. Except when 
preaching, I constantly read medicine for twelve 
months, and then advertised that I would attend to 
calls in the neighborhood. The first week after this 
announcement I had several important cases com- 
mitted to my care. The symptoms of diseases I was 
•familiar with; but the application of remedies — 
there was the rub ! However, I was studious, and 
generally successful. But I plainly saw that, in 
order to compete with old physicians around me, I 
must undergo a more thorough training. For this 
purpose I made every arrangement; and in Novem- 
ber, 1839, matriculated in the medical college in 
Lexington. On my return home in the spring, I 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 37 

entered into an active practice. Here the long- 
cherished desire of my heart was realized — I was a 
physician. In my twofold character — preacher and 
doctor— I had ample scope for my limited mental 
and physical abilities. I had always thought the 
two offices were highly compatible ; but this was a 
great error, for I often had an appointment to preach, 
and just before I started to fulfill it a messenger from 
some sick person would call me in the opposite direc- 
tion ; or when in the pulpit, some sad casualty would 
demand that I should leave before preaching. Hence, 
congregations were disappointed. I, however, en- 
deavored to wade on through all these difficulties. 
I was often compelled, after having sat up all night 
with the sick, and in the morning visiting several 
patients at different points, to hasten to my regular 
preaching appointments, that the people might not 
be dissatisfied. I never had the vanity to imagine 
that I was a good divine or pulpit orator, yet I 
could not close my eyes and ears to the fact that 
my sermons and exhortations produced, in almost 
every congregation, a powerful effect. 



38 AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 



PART VII. 

Removal to Perryville — Church at Thomas Moorman's — Popu- 
larity as a physician — Family increased — Preaches at vari- 
oiis points — Sycamore Meeting-house — Success in treatment 
of typhoid fever and difficult cases of midwifery — Had no 
time to read — Enters into partnership with Wm. T. Polk — 
Antioch Church. 

Through my pecuniary embarrassments I was 
compelled once more to change my location and field 
of labor. I reluctantly sold my farm, where, I 
trusted, I had commenced a laborious, but useful 
life, and moved to Perryville, in the fall of 1840. 
I carried with me the practice in medicine of many 
esteemed friends. My practice increased rapidly in 
my new home. Here, too, my services were sought 
as a preacher, particularly in the surrounding coun- 
try. At one of my first appointments, at a brother 
Moorman's, in Chaplin, great interest was mani- 
fested. After the sermon I called for mourners, 
and more than a dozen persons came forward and 
asked an interest in the pra^^ers of God's people. 
At the next appointment several were converted. 
This religious excitement continued for months, and 
the result was that the people built a neat and com- 
fortable house in which to worship. The society 
prospered for years. 1 preached to it statedly 



AUTOBIOaRAPtlY. 39 

once a month for years, the remaining Sabbaths be- 
ing occupied by circuit preachers. In a sad hour 
the building was accidentally burned. By death 
and removals the society dwindled to a few members, 
and preaching was temporarily discontinued at the 
place. 

It had been my constant study to show respect to 
all, and to be useful in every possible way; hence, 
every hour was employed. Never, from childhood, 
did I indulge in what the world calls recreation. One 
year of my sojourn in Perry ville passed, and I found 
myself a popular physician, having perhaps the 
best practice in the place. At any rate, day and 
night brought calls from the sick and dying. My 
zeal in the profession prompted me to answer the 
calls of the poor as well as of the rich. I rode all 
day, and frequently returned home weary, but to 
start out again through darkness and rain or cold to 
spend a sleepless night. Such are the toils and 
hardships of the faithful physician. Yet I loved 
them — I endured them joyfully; for certainly there 
can be no greater earthly bliss than to administer 
to the comfort of our fellow-beings — to restore, 
under God, health to the sick, or, when human skill 
is exhausted, to point the dying individual to the 
great Physician of Souls. 

Two more children were added to my family after 
my removal from Danville — liosa and Thomas J. 



40 AUTOBIOGUAPHY. 

I still had my regular appointments to preach. 
Temporary pulpits were erected for me in the forests 
at various places ; but frequently I stood uncovered 
in the open sun, and preached to large congregations. 
I endeavored to supply destitute portions of the 
country with preaching, never " building upon an- 
other man's foundation." The common people 
seemed to hear me gladly, and good order and deep 
solemnity usually prevailed. I was often called to 
visit five or six patients in the morning, and then to 
fill a previous appointment six or eight miles distant 
from Perry ville. 

While I lived in the country I had commenced 
regular preaching, once every month, on the North 
Rolling Fork, at Sycamore Meeting-house, then a 
poor log building. At this place I appointed as my 
elders two irreligious men, and made them promise 
that they would always be present when I preached. 
These gentlemen kept their promise, and I had the 
satisfaction afterward of seeing one of them. Garret 
Clarkson, join the church. He continues to this 
day an efficient and useful member of society, and 
one of my warmest friends. My appointment I 
continued until the people built a neat and com- 
fortable house of worship. 

Eighteen hundred and forty-three was to me a pros- 
perous year in the practice of medicine. Typhoid 
fever was the prevailing disease, and in its treatment 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 41 

I acquired the reputation of being very successful. 
Difficult cases of midwifery, too, were generally in- 
trusted to my skill. I have often rode forty miles 
in a day, and then sat up the entire night with the 
sick, and on the following day been compelled to 
renew the same round among the suifering. Under 
all this labor God supported me. Blessed be His 
name ! 

Another new year (1844) arrived, and I renewed 
my labors for the souls and bodies of my fellow- 
men. This year my practice was largely increased, 
as well as my labors in the pulpit. I found that 
I had not time to read as I had formerly done, and 
began to think that I was becoming stale and dull 
in my twofold calling. 

I can say of the years 1845, '46, and '47 nothing 
more than what I have already said of '44, except 
that in the interval another daughter, Eliza Bell, 
was born. I have now four sons and four daughters 
living; one son, Jefferson B. Polk, dead. 

My eldest son, William T. Polk, returned home 
in 1848, a graduate of Transylvania medical school. 
We entered into a partnership, which continued six 
years. During that time we retained a large prac- 
tice. My health still continued good, but dim sight 
and gray hairs began to admonish me that the 
evening of life had already set in, and that it be- 
hooved me to moderate my labors. But a voice 

4 



42 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

seemed to say, " Toil on ! toil on !" and I submitted 
to my destiny. 

In 1855 my son and I dissolved partnership, each 
continuing the practice of medicine in Perryville. 
I was now solicited to preach in a destitute neigh- 
borhood. The request came from Allen Stewart, a 
non-professor; and I consented on condition that 
he would act as my elder, and hear me regularly. 
This he promised and faithfully performed; and 
afterward joined the church. I had large congre- 
gations at every appointment, and continued to 
labor at this point — Follis's Run — for two years. 
Toward the close of the second year a pious and 
very zealous exhorter, named John Hamilton, came 
to live in Perryville. I engaged him to assist me 
in the work on Follis's Run, and we had not long 
"sown in tears" before we began to "reap in joy." 
A gracious revival of religion commenced in a 
class-meeting. Many presented themselves for the 
prayers of the church. The interest increased, and 
during a protracted meeting of about two weeks 
seventy souls, of all conditions of society, were hap- 
pily converted. At the conclusion of the meeting 
we divided out the converts between the Methodist 
and Baptist churches. I was appointed to represent 
the former church and Rev. J. G. Pond the latter. 
The result was that about fifty joined the Methodist 
and six joined the Baptist. Among the fruits of 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 43 

this revival, two men, each over eighty years of age, 
on a profession of faith, were received and baptized. 
I then baptized in one day, by immersion and 
pouring, forty of the new converts. As another 
fruit of this revival, a handsome frame church was 
forthwith erected, and dedicated as ^'Antioehr The 
society was blessed with a continued revival of more 
than two years, and continues to have regular circuit 
preaching. In 1856 I still preached at Antioch and 
Martin's school-house. The attendance was always 
good, and God added still to the church. At this 
time the membership numbered upward of one 
hundred. 



PART VIII. 

Trial by committee of the church — Acquitted — Presidential 
election of 1860 — Secession — Loyalty to the government — 
Assistance to Union soldiers — Battle of Perry ville — His 
house a hospital — First spell of sickness — His assistance 
sought by rebels — Votes for Mr. Lincoln. 

I HAD always declared to my brethren that, al- 
though I considered myself an unprofitable servant 
in the work of the Master, I had no fear of ever 
being arraigned before the church for any act of 
immorality. But, in the year 1857, an unfortunate 
difficulty occurred between myself and the preacher 
in charge, in which my moral character having been 
impugned, I was brought on trial before a committee 



44 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

of the church, appointed for the purpose. After 
a patient investigation, which continued through 
two entire days, I was declared "not guilty" of 
the charges preferred against me, and honorably 
acquitted. With this single exception my relations 
with the church have never in the slightest degree 
been disturbed. Though conscious of my innocence, 
it was certainly very humiliating to me to have my 
name brought thus before the public. This trial 
was doubtless suffered to come upon me for some 
wise purpose. 

In the year 1859 I was compelled to curtail 
my labors, quitting the practice of medicine, and 
preaching but little, on account of a severe bron- 
chial affection and cough. 

The memorable fall of 1860 approached. The 
presidential election was held — four candidates, 
Douglas, Lincoln, Breckinridge, and Bell, in the 
field. The first was the advocate of squatter sover- 
eignty; the second, of emancipation; the third, of 
secession; and the fourth, of the constitution and 
the enforcement of the laws. I voted for the latter. 
The result of the election is known to all. 

As soon as it was certain that Mr. Lincoln had 
been elected, a violent outburst of feeling was mani- 
fested in all the slave states. The assassination of 
the President elect was threatened. It was declared 
he never should take his seat. Eleven of the states 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 45 

seceded in quick succession, and a civil war com- 
menced. It is not my business here to write a 
history of that war. I wish only to say that I 
considered it my duty to God and my country to 
espouse the Union cause. Accordingly, I exhausted 
every argument to dissuade my fellow-men from the 
attempt at disunion. While the war continued, I 
exerted myself in support of the government — 
feeding, encouraging, and administering medicine 
to Union soldiers free of charge. 

The war had not been long in progress before it 
came to our very doors. The battle of Perryville 
was fought on the 8th day of October, 1862; and, 
in the hasty movements of the two opposing armies, 
many sick and wounded were left upon our hands. 
My house was made a hospital for eight or ten 
of these. I was likewise appointed surgeon to a 
hospital containing forty wounded soldiers. Here 
I labored day and night until my health gave way, 
and I was compelled to desist from my work. Many 
of my friends thought my illness would prove fatal; 
but, thank God, I soon recovered. 

No part of my life is filled with so many pleasing 
and yet painful incidents and reminiscences as during 
the great rebellion. Like others who remained 
steadfast in their devotion to the government, I 
too at times was threatened by thoughtless and 
irresponsible persons of secession proclivities. But 



46 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

none of these tilings moved me. I remained at 
home, pursuing mj round of daily duties, unfright- 
ened by these occasional threats and undisturbed by 
foolish taunts, ever hopeful that the darkness which 
at first enveloped the Union arms would clear away, 
and success would ultimately be theirs. And my 
hopes were not in vain. After struggling for a while 
against reverses that would have appalled hearts less 
stout, the soldiers of the Union at length began to 
carry their arms into the very heart of the seceded 
states, and gained such foothold there as gave assur- 
ance of a termination of the war which would well 
accord with my hopes. And it was now that, by 
assisting rebel soldiers out of prison, I was able to 
return good for evil, and repay blessing for cursing. 
In 1864 the country was again called upon to 
elect a President. I was one of three in my own 
precinct who voted for Mr. Lincoln and the admin- 
istration. This was my last vote for President, and 
furnished a somewhat remarkable coincidence with 
my first, I being one of three (according to my best 
recollection) in the city of Lexington, w^ho voted for 
Gren. Jackson just forty years before. It is further 
remarkable that between these two periods — 1824 
and 1864 — I have voted at every presidential as 
well as every congressional and state election. 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 47. 



PART IX. 

Devotion to the temperance cause — Joins the Sons of Mor- 
ality — Emancipation with colonization — Petition for the 
abolition of Sunday mails. 

About the year 1822 I connected myself with the 
first temperance society that ever had been organ- 
ized in Lexington, and became an active member of 
it at a time when the cause was every-where spoken 
against. In 1832 I became a member of the tem- 
perance society in Danville, and was appointed one 
of its officers. Some years afterward the Wash- 
ingtonian Society of Reformed Drunkards was sub- 
stituted for temperance societies, and I connected 
myself with that organization. Subsequently I be- 
came a member of the Sons of Temperance, helping 
to organize the society, and holding office during 
the larger period of my connection vfith it. Finally 
I joined the Sons of Morality, whose tenets were 
opposition to ''drinking, swearing, gambling. Sab- 
bath-breaking, and keeping bad company." In 
these associations I was zealous, laborious, and un- 
flinching in my devotion and work for the advance- 
ment of their interests, meeting regularly with their 
members, and making many public speeches in their 
favor. 



48 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

While in Danville, I was agent and treasurer of 
the Colonization Society, and was instrumental in 
sending to Liberia many manumitted slaves and free 
colored persons. The cause that always lay nearest 
my heart was emancipation with colonization; and, 
notwithstanding the providence of God has brought 
about this change in the condition of the colored 
race suddenly, I yet entertain the hope that some 
plan will be soon devised by which, now that they 
are freed, they may be properly colonized. I was 
one of the first to petition Congress for the abolition 
of Sunday mails, and have lived to see accomplished 
by the moral sentiment of the people that which 
prejudice and political excitement would not then 
entertain. 

On these great and leading moral questions of 
the country I have never seen any good reason 
to change my sentiments, which were deliberately 
formed. ''^ 

'■• How far I have succeeded in accomplishing something for 
the good of mankind, the reader is now left to judge, 

I am now (1867) superannuated, but, desiring not to be 
idle, acting as claim agent for Union soldiers, and postmaster 
of Perryville, Ky. 



DRAMA OF LIFE, 



A TRUE PICTURE. 



On the 10th day of September, 1823, under a 
cahn and cloudless sky, at six o'clock, P. M., a 
straight, tall, slender-made young man, dark blue 
eyes, long black hair falling down upon his shoul- 
ders, dressed in bottle-green frock coat, white pants 
and vest, and a silk hat of modern style, leaves a 
small brick house, nearly opposite Broadway Hotel, 
in the city of Lexington, accompanied by the hus- 
band and wife of the family where he had long 
boarded. The small company pass down the south 
side of Main-cross Street to Main ; thence, at a 
right angle, on the east side of Main Street to 
Poplar Row ; thence, at a right angle, on the south 
side of Poplar Row to Water Street. Turning 
slightly to the ieft, across the street, they arrive 
at a large two-story stone house. 

All along the route, as they pass, many spec- 
tators are on the sidewalk, apparently anxious to 
get a sight of the company. Arriving at the point 
of destination, there is seen a crowd — men, boys, and 



50 DRAMA OP LIFE. 

a few colored persons — in breathless waiting. As 
the small company approach and enter the house, 
the spectators separate and form on either hand. 
There is heard an audible hum in the crowd, not 
of insult or contempt, but the noise of pleasurable 
excitement and approval. The house is brilliantly 
illuminated. Within are assembled honorable old 
men, their wives and their daughters, and a few 
young men. 

In a few minutes the young man who attracted 
the eyes of so many on the street is conducted to a 
room above stairs. In that room sits a small, hand- 
somely dressed maiden, in a robe of white; large 
dark eyes ; long flowing black hair, curling naturally, 
reaching down to her shoulders. Her form is ex- 
quisite ; her faithful female friend by her side. The 
maiden is a father's and a mother's pride; but she 
is now to be given to another. A few moments, 
and the young man and the fair maiden and their 
attendants descend and stand before the man of 
God. The bridegroom and bride mutually promise 
to love, honor, and cherish each other during life. 
The ceremony over, many hearty greetings are 
given by those within, while the crowd without 
manifest their joy by a shout and serenade; then 
quietly disperse. 

Forty-three years pass of connubial peace and 
happiness — the wife faithfully performing her mar- 



THE PLACE WHERE I WAS BORN. 51 

riage vows. Five sons and four daughters are the 
fruit of their union. One of the sons died in his 
minority. 

The scene is changed. On the 13th day of April, 
1867, in the town of Perry ville, at half-past twelve 
o'clock, A. M., the fair maiden, faithful wife, kind 
mother, and devoted Christian — her work done — ap- 
proaches her end, calls for the husband of her 
youth, of her riper years, and of her old age, and 
also for her eio;ht livinoj children, and delivers to 
each a separate and appropriate charge, and leaves 
to each a parting blessing. 

The morning was bright and full of hope; the 
evening is shrouded in gloom — at least to him who 
now wanders smitten, afflicted. Such is life I 



THE PLACE WHERE I AVAS BORN. 

The place where I was born — the dearest spot 
on earth to me — where first I knew a mother's 
care, and felt a mother's warm embrace! The 
swathing-bands, the long white robes, the tiny 
shoes, the embroidered cap, the cordials when I 
was sick ! These were earthly comforts, ere I 
could appreciate a mother's love, or understand a 
mother's blessing. But now, my bodily powers 
developed and my mind expanded, I was excited 



52 DRAMA OF LIFE. 

to laughter or complaint as different objects pleased 
or annoyed me. 

Soon I made the hearts of a father and a mother 
glad, when they saw me making my first unsteady 
steps across the room. How the hand of love ac- 
companied me, touching slightly the hem of my 
garment lest I fall! More vigorous grown, I com- 
mence my infantile romps with the larger children, 
with the lap-dog and the kitten. I showed my 
delight at the spinning of the top, and the building 
of the cob-pen. Presently I am permitted to cross 
the threshold, to breathe the pure air, and look 
upon the glorious luminary of the day; to try my 
strength and agility in gambols upon the green 
grass; and, in still riper years, to leave the yard, 
and visit the flowing stream and the deep cool spring 
hard by. Here I first felt sorrow; for in that deep 
fountain I was told my elder brother was drowned. 
Then I remember the tall oak that stood close by, 
where first I tried my strength in casting stones 
and sticks into its branches. 0, that was a happy 
day when a stone from my sling first reached the 
topmost branch. The philosopher was not more 
delighted when he exclaimed, ^'I have found it! I 
have found it ! " 

Now, larger grown, I was taught to ride, to go 
with my father to mill. It was strange, but I was 
delighted to see the machinery, and learn how corn 



THE PLACE WHERE I WAS BORN. 53 

was ground and flour was made. And then to angle 
in the river, and draw out the perch and the trout, 
was exquisite bliss ! I returned home to relate the 
wonderful sights I had seen. I had traveled four 
miles and back again in one day. Marvelous jour- 
ney! When I could wield the ax and the hoe, 
and hold the handles of the plow, I fancied myself 
almost a man. Then it was unalloyed bliss to visit 
the distant horse-mill, and be absent two days and 
nights. 

Then came the state elections. For three days 
the voting went on. The candidates sat on the 
judge's seat, and as the voter cast his vote the 
favored candidates said, in a loud and flattering tone, 
all at the same time, " Thank you, Mr. M." 

When the election was over, the candidates, 
whether successful or not, were bound by the eti- 
quette of the times to make the people a speech. 
Barrels of sling for neophytes, and barrels of 
brandy and whisky for old topers, wei^ rolled out. 
Then began bruising, gouging, and biting. Here I 
conceived a life-long hatred of the inebriating bowl. 
On leaving, I was glad in my heart that elections 
came but once a year. 

But there were the company, the battalion, and 
Ihe regimental musters. These were attended; 
candidates spoke; the drum and fife played; while 
captains stood or marched at the head of fifties. 



54 DRAMA OF LIFE. 

and majors and colonels at the head of hundreds, 
the general inspecting the whole. Sure, thought I, 
these officers are supernatural men. The epaulet, 
the cocked hat, and the fair-topped boots made a 
thrilling and lasting impression upon my youthful 
mind. Each officer could boast of having served 
in the Continental army under George Washington. 
I heard them talk of the traitor Benedict Arnold, 
while they grasped the hilts of their swords more 
tightly, and swore vengeance on all tories and ene- 
mies of the country their valor had won. Their 
utterances made me a patriot, if not a hero. Min- 
gling thus in the busy scenes of life, I began to 
realize that life was a mixed cup — that it had its 
sweets and its bitters. 

It is remarkable that, with all the improprieties 
and ill-feeling between our fathers, murder was un- 
known. The first murder I ever heard of horrified 
me. Thousands of people visited the hotel in G., 
where the foul deed was perpetrated. The landlord 
would not suffer the blood stains on the floor to be 
washed off until the murderer had expiated his crime 
on the gallows. 

Another war was declared with the mother coun- 
try. To arms ! to arms ! was heard on the hill-tops ; 
it ran along the valley. Soon the tramp of arme^ 
hosts was heard, keeping time to the drum and 
shrill fife, all pressing toward the Canadas. I saw 



THE PLACE WHERE I WAS BORN. 55 

the last embrace of husbands and wives, parents 
and sons, brothers and sisters, young maidens and 
their lovers. The man of God preached to the 
soldiers about marching of patriotism, Christ, and 
religion. No cry was then heard about mingling 
Church and State. Thank God ! all were of one 
heart and one mind. I thought, 0, cruel, cruel 
war ! But every thing should bend to the salvation 
of the country. 0, now I saw clearly that life is 
but a warfare from its beginning to its end ! 

But a darker day than I had yet experienced was 
just ahead. That destroyer, the cold plague, visited 
the neighborhood. Among its victims was my father. 
It was a sad sound that went to my heart when 
the good man that stood over him said, '^He is 
dead." I strengthened myself and retired. The 
next day all things looked shrouded in mourning. 
I went out to the newly-made grave. The friends 
who dug it were polishing the sides and bottom as 
if they were preparing it for the habitation of the 
living instead of the dead. Here, at the appointed 
hour, they placed the coffin with its precious dust. 
I now understood what was meant when the holy 
man said, the " Coffin and the winding-sheet. Dust 
to dust, and ashes to ashes." 

After this sad event I left home, the place of my 
birth, and have wandered on through the ills and 
joys of fifty years; yet in my old age I often, in 



66 DRAMA OF LIFE. 

dreams of tlie night, and in my tliouglits by day, 
revisit the place where I was horn. 

"I've wander'd on thro' many a clime, 

Where flowers of beauty grew; 
Where all was blissful to the heart 

And lovely to the view ; 
I've seen them in their twilight pride, 

And in their dress of morn; 
But none appear'd so sweet to me 

As the spot where I was born." 



SKETCHES. 



LEXINGTON. 

Forty-three years ago this city was the me- 
tropolis of the State of Kentucky — the largest city, 
indeed, in the West. In it was concentrated great 
wealth. The enterprise and intelligence of the city 
were unsurpassed in the western country. Here 
were the largest stores, and the most flourishing 
manufactories. Among its chief dry goods stores 
were Trotter's, Oldham's, AVarfield's, Pritchard's, 
Harvey's, Craig's, Whitney's, Higgins's, Leavy's, 
and Gatewood's — all large importers direct from 
eastern cities. Silversmiths — Blanchard, Frazier, 
and Ayres. Booksellers — W. W. Worseley and Skill- 
man. Grocers — Lemon, M'Lair, Huggins, Trotter, 
and Crow. Saddler — Bryan. Carriage-makers — 
Veach, Redd, and Ashton. Auctioneer — Anderson. 
Broker — D. A. Sayer. Its manufactories of wool, 
cotton, hemp, iron, and white lead were conducted 
by Boswell, Biney, Oldham, Scott, Tod, Bruen, 
Caldwell, Brand, Ater, and Hunt. Some of these 
establishments were owned by large companies; but, 

r 





58 SKETCHES. 

proving unsuccessful, were discontinued. Those 
conducted by individual enterprise or smaller com- 
panies generally proved remunerative. At the bar 
vras found the first legal talent of the state, such as 
Clay, Wicklifi*e, Pope, Bledsoe, Barry, Haggin, Hum- 
phrey, January, Chinn, and Breckinridge — men who 
in their day possessed a national celebrity as barris- 
ters and jurists, and compared with whom those of 
any part of the United States could not be con- 
sidered more than their equals. The medical pro- 
fession, too, was ably represented by Dudley, Drake, 
Richardson, Warfield, Boswell, Bidgeley, Pindall, 
and Satterwhite, who for skill and professional 
knowledge in medicine and surgery had no peers 
on the continent. A branch of the United States 
Bank was established here, with that affable and 
kind-hearted gentleman, John Tilford, as president, 
and Mr. Montell as teller. The pulpits of the 
various Christian denominations were filled by min- 
isters of the first talent and the deepest piety — 
Light, Fishback, Hall, Breckinridge, Cunningham, 
Yardiman, and Chapman. All of these divines, 
by their fine pulpit oratory, drew around them 
large audiences, and by their Christian deportment 
endeared themselves to a large circle of friends. 
Transylvania University (Dr. Holley president) was 
then in its palmiest days — its medical and law 
departments filled to overflowing. 



LEXrSfGTON. 59 

The moral and social influences of the city were 
felt throughout the country. In the suburbs of the 
town were splendid villa>s and gardens, the houses of 
handsome architecture, and the gardens arranged in 
the most tasteful manner. Two of these gardens 
(Fowler's and Lamphier's) were specially intended 
as places of resort for the elite of the surrounding 
country during the summer months. Whatever could 
gratify the taste or please the eye was furnished here 
in rich profusion. 

The Phcenix Hotel was kept h\ ^Ir. Keene, and 
the Broadway by Mr. Ayres, both furnishing the 
very best accommodations. In the suburbs, the fine 
state institution for lunatics had just been founded, 
and into it had already been gathered a great num- 
ber of this unfortunate class of individuals. 

The press in Lexington at this period was wield- 
ing a powerful influence in shaping the political 
complexion of the respective parties, state and 
national, into which the people were divided. The 
first, the "Kentucky Gazette,'* the first newspaper 
printed west of the Alleghanies, was imder the edi- 
torial manao^ement of John Bradford. Esq.. a sren- 
tleman who was reputed the first mathematician, 
the first philosopher, and the first astronomer of his 
day, and now perhaps known from his '-^sotes on 
Kentucky,"' written and published while he was an 
editor. In his studio stood lar^ie ojlobes. terrestial 



60 SKETCHES. 

and celestial, and on liis table lay choice works on 
all these various sciences, together with the lives of 
Franklin, Washington, and Marion, the Proverbs of 
Poor Richard, and many other instructive books. 
He was familiarly known in the city by the dis- 
tinctive name of " Wisdom.^' The second paper 
established in the place was the "Kentucky Re- 
porter," under the management of W. W. Worseley 
and Thomas Smith — a paper which was extensively 
circulated during ■ the war of 1812, having been 
established as the organ of the war party. The 
editors were gentlemen of good character and great 
influence. The ''Western Monitor," a tri-weekly 
newspaper, was afterward established and conducted 
by Mr. William G. Hunt, an editor of great ability 
This paper was the organ of what was then called 
the "Blue Light" Federal party of the North. 

There were at this time no turnpikes leading from 
the city; the streets, however, were macadamized, 
and the sidewalks paved with brick. 

This sketch, written from recollection by one who 
once lived in the beautiful city, and was acquainted 
with many of those whose names are mentioned here, 
is designed as an humble tribute to the memory of 
those great and long since departed men. 

"0, friends regretted, scenes forever dear, 
Remembrance hails you with her warmest tear! 
Drooping she bends o'er.pensive Fancy's urn 
To trace the hours that never can return." 



THE MARKET-PLACE. 61 

THE MARKET-PLACE. 

The new market-houses in Lexington had just 
been built, over South Elkhorn Creek, which passes 
through the midst of the city. Each of these houses 
extended across one entire square. Here, many 
hours before the dawn of day, every Wednesday 
and Saturday morning, were seen wagons, carts, 
and people on horseback, by hundreds, all unloading 
and preparing for the opening market. The market 
was opened at six, A. M., in the winter, and four 
o'clock, A. M., in the summer season. At the same 
time the people of the city — men, women, servants, 
and children — poured in from every street and alley, 
all bearing in their hands bags, baskets, dishes, jugs, 
or plates, in which to receive whatever they might be 
able to buy. Whoever bought or sold before the des- 
ignated hour was liable to a heavy fine. The throng 
was now increased to thousands. Here were seen 
the lawyer the doctor, and the professor of college 
in their morning gowns; the artisan and the poor 
mendicant, who bought but little because of their 
limited means. 

Equally mottled and diverse in appearance were 
the sellers. The trade was now opened, and the 
crowd mingled together promiscuously. Some of 
the buyers appeared to be in great haste, as if in 
pursuit of some great treasure which they feared 



62 SKETCHES. 

would elude their grasp, while others stood before 
stalls, or bending over piles of vegetables, pricing 
and selecting from each parcel the articles that 
suited them. Some bought largely and paid lib- 
erally; others bought sparingly and paid grudg- 
ingly, as was evinced in their conduct in jewing 
the seller doAvn to the last cent. The most con- 
spicuous character in the whole throng was the 
market-master^ with scales and weights in hand, 
testing the weights and measures of the various 
venders. The whole scene was interesting and in- 
structive; a place where human character was pre- 
sented in all its phases. The student and the phi- 
losopher might learn wisdom here not to be found 
in the books of the ancients. At the hour of nine 
o'clock, A. M., the whole scene was changed; the 
buyers had all returned to their homes or their 
various avocations, and the marketers were hieing 
toward the country with light hearts, their pockets 
filled with small change, counting their profits and 
concocting plans and new arrangements for the 
next market day. A few of the country people, 
however, lingered behind to take a stroll through 
the city, to see the strange sights, and make a few 
small purchases. The market-place was now de- 
serted, except by the dogs tha,t had gathered to 
lick the blood ofi" butchers' stalls and gather up the 
offal left behind by the market people. 



THE CITY OF THE DEAD. 63 

Many went to the markets to meet and converse 
with old friends from the country, and inquire for 
news from the different localities of the sellers; 
many went as spectators to catch the manners of 
rustics "living as they rise." All seemed to be in- 
terested and edified. The giver and receiver alike 
were benefited, and separated entertaining those 
warm and genial feelings that association and com- 
merce never fail to inspire. 



*'THE CITY OF THE DEAD." 

Passing on Main Street from Lexington toward 
Frankfort, one mile and a quarter from the center 
of the former place, you arrive at a beautiful grove 
on the right, inclosed by a hedge, and over the gate 
leading therein you read the significant inscription, 
^' The City of the Dead." Entering, you follow 
the winding street, and near the center find yourself 
before the monument erected by individual subscrip- 
tion to the memory of one beneath whose clarion 
voice listening senates once sat entranced, but now 
silent in the grave, HENRY CLAY. As you stand 
at the base and look upward to its dizzy summit 
you behold the statue of the world-renowned orator, 
in attitude such as he was wont to assume when 
addressing his compeers upon some question of 
national interest and national importance. In the 



64 SKETCHES. 

chamber which constitutes a part of its base are 
visible through an iron grating the sarcophagus in 
which repose the ashes of the ''great commoner, ^^ 
and beside it, on the south, another in which lie the 
mortal remains of her who won his youthful love 
and gloried in his manhood's fame; while on the 
north lie the coffins in which reposes whatever is 
earthly of the deceased members of his family. 
Made of the finest Kentucky marble, and rising to 
the height of about one hundred and thirty feet, the 
monument, from its commanding position, is visible 
for miles around. 

Leaving it and proceeding in any direction, you 
are brought by winding streets to other beautiful 
but less stately monuments and tombstones, none 
of which are cenotaphs, but all inscribed with the 
names and covering the ashes of individuals and 
families who once were the ornament and pride of 
Lexington and the surrounding country. Their 
names are inscribed upon their tombs, but their 
deeds are written indelibly upon the hearts of their 
friends who survive them. These graves are all 
decorated with evergreens and choicest flowers. 

Near the south-western side of the cemetery you 
come, by a winding street, to a deep basin excavated 
by the hand of art, and containing the family vaults, 
their fronts of hewn stone, with closed doors. Above 
the doors are inscribed the names of the families 



THE CITY OF THE DEAD. bO 

whose members lie within. In this basin, also, is 
the reception vault, where are deposited the nev/ly 
dead, subject to future interment or to removal by 
kindred or friends. Its entrance of lattice-work 
affords full view of the coffins that are within. 
Standing here, with no sound to disturb the un- 
earthly stillness, no hum of busy industry, no voice 
but the twitter of birds and rustling of the breeze, 
one's thoughts assume the hue of the surroundings, 
and busy memory brings up names that are empty 
sounds to all save recollection, and forms that have 
long since decayed. Thoughts, too, of one's own 
state — his past, his present, and his future — throng 
unbidden upon him, and his prophetic vision reaches 
forward to the time when he, too, must relinquish 
his hold upon life and become the silent habitant of 
the tomb. The heart grows faint and the haughty 
spirit humble by such reflections as these, and deep 
regret fills the breast that such things must be. 
But " sin hath entered into the world, and death by 
sin ; so death hath passed upon all, for that all have 
sinned." 

"The sceptered king, the burthen'd slave, 

The humble and the haughty, die; 

The rich, the poor, the base, the brave, 

In dust, without distinction, lie." 

6 



6G SKETCHES. 

HAKRODSBUEG. 

It is perhaps not generally known to the rising 
generation, who have not read the "History of Ken- 
tucky," that Harrodsburg is one of the oldest towns 
in the state, and before what is called "Jackson's 
Purchase" was added, was considered the center of 
the then populous counties. Hence, Mercer County 
was denominated " the backbone of Kentucky ^ The 
name Harrodsburg was given to it in honor of Col. 
James Harrod, one of the early pioneers of the 
West. The Revolution of '76 had just closed when 
a few families emigrated hither, and erected a fort as 
a place of residence and safety from the attacks of 
hostile Indians. At this time the red men of the 
forest were very troublesome to the settlers, fre- 
quently murdering individuals, and carrying off 
cattle, horses, etc. Among the brave and hardy 
pioneers who were ever foremost to pursue and 
punish the savages were Gen. Ray, Col. Harrod, 
Capt. Harlan, the McAfees, Sharps, Mays, and 
many others wdiose names it is to be regretted are 
lost to history. These men planted by their bravery 
and perseverance where we now reap. They seemed 
to be led by an overruling Providence, steeling their 
hearts against fear and protecting them against 
danger. 



IIARRODSBUEG. 67 

"There is a tear for all who die — 

A mourner o'er the humblest grave; 
But nations swell the funeral cry, 

And Triumph weeps above the brave." 

After the danger from the bloody incursions of 
the enemy had ceased, a few families settled on the 
site where Harrodsburg now stands. The number 
of the inhabitants increased rapidly, and the place 
began to assume the proportions and appearance of 
a village. Who first, who last, for thirty years built 
houses, traded, and tilled the rich soil of the sur- 
rounding country, need not be here mentioned. 
Suffice it to say, in 1824 the town was respect- 
able in size for a county-seat, with streets and 
houses t-astefully arranged. On public days might 
be seen mingling with the throng. Gen. Ray, Gen. 
McAfee, Gen. Adair, Gen. Sutfield, Col. Slaughter, 
Judge Worthington, Maj. Moore, Maj. Thompson, 
Capt. Daviess, Capt. Morgan, and Capt. Thompson; 
Drs. Tomlinson, Bybee, Trapnall, Bosley, Graham, 
Jones, and Miller, many of whom in after life filled 
prominent offices in the gift of the people. The 
gospel pioneers who first sowed the good seed in 
Harrodsburg and the surrounding country were Rev. 
Pace and Rev. Clelland, of the Presbyterian Church ; 
Rev. John Rice, of the Baptist Church ; Rev. Valen- 
tine Cook and Rev. Thomas Kyle, of the Methodist 
Church. These men were all acknowledged as good 



0J> SKETOUKS. 

divines, and two of thora at least tine pulpit orators. 
They lived and labored long in the Master's vine- 
yard. The most distinguished untitled individuals 
-svoro Chinn, Cheno^Yoth, Passmore, Smedley, Mo- 
GotHn, Allin, and Gore. These men, with many 
others of less note, plaeed an indelible mark upon 
the eharaeter of the society around them. It can 
not be supposed that every influence they exerted 
was good, but it may be safely said they were all 
conscientious, high-toned, and clever gentlemen, 
compared with whom no part of the state could 
boast of their superiors. 

These distinguishe^l men, save four (^Chinn, Smed- 
lev, Passmore, and Graham), have all passed away. 
The four survivors still remain, noble specimens of 
a former generation, ripe in years, and ready to be 
gathered to their fathers. 

'•There's a feeling wiiiin us tiiat lores to revert 
To the merrv old times that are gone." 



PEKRY^TT.T.K. 

It is not known to many who now have residences 
in our midst that the site on which Perryville stands 
was once a walled fort for the protection of the 
inhabitants from the incursions of the Indians. 
About the year 1TS1-- a few families emigrated 
from the State of Pennsylvania and took up their 



PERRYVILLE. OSf 

residence on the banks of Chapline Creek; but thej 
soon found it necessary to provide a more eecure 
place of abode than their respective log-cabins. 
Accordinfrly, Ilarberson, Ewing, Potts, and a few 
others built a substantial fort, which included the 
fine spring now used bv our citizens, Thej had 
not long enjoyed their new home when Ewing and 
Potts went out of the fort to cultivate a small spot 
of ground nearly opposite the mouth of the spring, 
where it empties into Chapline. One morning as 
they sallied forth a band of Indians were in ambush, 
and fired on them, killing Ewing instantly. Potts 
returned the fire, and killed the Indian that shot 
Ewing, The Indians then fled, but in their flight 
they came upon Harberson, who was out scouting, 
took him prisoner, and it is supposed murdered him 
about one mile from the fort, because he was lame 
and could not travel. His head was found, but his 
body was secreted, so it was never recovered. His 
wife took the head and managed to keep it in a com- 
plete state of preservation for many years. The 
body of Daniel Ewing was the first ever buried in 
Perry ville Cemetery. 

After this, Harberson's Fort was strengthened by 
an increase of emigrants from surrounding forts, 
and the inhabitants enjoyed peace. So, we see, the 
foundations of Perryvillle were baptized in blood. 
The happy fathers began to sing joyfully — 



70 SKETCHES. 

"Where nothing dwelt but beasts of prey, 
Or men as fierce raid wild as they, 
We sow our fields, aud trees we plant. 
Whose yearly fruits supply our Avant." 

Next in order may be mentioned a host of men 
and matrons, intelligent and worthy, who succes- 
sively gave tone to societj^, tilled the soil, and ex- 
tended civilization. Among the most prominent 
were Warren, Briscoe, Durham, Bullock, Burton, 
Crow, Walker, Rains, Potts, Eulkerson, Crawford, 
liarberson, Ewing, Latimer, Mitchell, Hamner, 
Bilbo, Wade, Crane, Bottom, Bridges, Williams, 
Hart, Eisher, Yankee, Hartgrove, Boiling, Davis, 
McGinnis, Blackgrove, Greenwood, Sandifer, Comp- 
ton, Jeffries, Gash, Parks, Colter, Laws, Sweeney, 
and Calvert. It is not intended to hold up the lives 
and moral character of these men as models of pro- 
priety, for it must be confessed that many w^ere 
their aberrations from the path of virtue; but it 
may be safely assumed that they were noble speci- 
mens of a generation now passed away. 

Thus it is seen that Perry ville is one of the his- 
toric towns of the state. What it is at the present 
we all know ; a population numbering six hundred, 
with enterprisiDg merchants, industrious and sober 
mechanics, fine institutions of learning, and im- 
provements in turnpike roads that equal any town 
in the state. 



DANVILLE. 71 

DANVILLE 

AS IT WAS FORTY YEARS AGO. 

The early settleDient and the names of the prom- 
inent inhabitants of this town have already passed 
into history. It is proposed here only to trace a 
few of the features of its society and institutions 
during a brief period (from 1826 to 1838^ in- 
clusive). 

Y/e may premise that Danville society, at the 
period referred to, partook of those vices common 
to the whole country. Although the people were 
somewhat aristocratic in feeling, and many of them 
professing the highest order of intellect, they had 
not yet acknowledged the superior claims of religion 
over pleasure and love of the world. As an evi- 
dence of this, in a town containing nearly one 
thousand inhabitants, surrounded by wealthy farm- 
ers tilling the best soil under the sun, they did not 
number more than thirty or forty communicants of 
all denominations of Christians, and in 1826 there 
was but one church building in the place. It is true. 
Center College had just been founded; the deaf and 
dumb asylum was open for the reception of pupils: 
Dr. Chamberlain was president of the former and 
John A. Jacobs superintendent of the latter insti- 
tution. Samuel K. Nelson, an eloquent preacher 
and a man much beloved, was pastor of the Presby- 



72 SKETCHES. 

terian Church; Jolm llice and John Higgins repre- 
sented the Baptist Church; while Wm. Iloleman and 
Henry S. Duke conducted worship for the small 
class of Methodists. Never did Christian ministers 
labor with greater assiduity or zeal to build up the 
Redeemer's kingdom, and never were pious labors 
so signally crowned with success. There were 
daily accessions to all the churches, and prayer 
and praise were heard in almost every house. 
The moral aspect of the place was now greatly im- 
proved. In a short period of time the communicants 
of the different churches increased from thirty or 
forty to hundreds; places of worship were crowded 
with anxious hearers; benevolent contributions were 
made; and a general state of improvement (paving 
streets and making turnpikes) was every-where 
manifest. 

Danville, like every other town in the state, had 
its representative men, who gave tone to society. 
Among them, Barbour, Green, Birney, Tilford, 
Hope, Morrow, Bell, Mcllvoy, Russell, Rice, Fleece, 
McDowell, Reed, Caldwell, Cleramons, Tompkins, 
Prall, Gray, Ayres, Polk, Bowers, Crutchfield, Col- 
lins, Rochester, Davenport, Harlan, Jackson, Bat- 
terton, Garnett, Stewart, Weisiger, Fisher, Erwin, 
Thompson, Buchanan, Nichols, Yeiser, Proctor, 
Blackburn, Barbee, Breckinridge, Calhoun, Miller, 
C-ains, Nelson, and Smith. Among these were num- 



DANVILLE. 73 

bered able professors, good divines, lawyers, doctors, 
merchants, and mechanics : all of them men whose 
acquaintance kings might covet, and be proud to 
call them brothers. They are not here presented 
as blameless in life, but they will challenge com- 
parison with those of any of their generation in 
talent, integrity, and generous bearing in their de- 
portment in society. The unfortunate whom they 
thought w^orthy were counseled and assisted in busi- 
ness. Many instances are known, where merchants 
and mechanics had failed, that the more fortunate 
made them loans of money without interest to start 
them again in business. To live in such a com- 
munity was to have your interests promoted, and 
your moral character defended. 

The literary institutions of the town became the 
nurseries of piety and sound morality, while the 
citizens generally contributed their full share to the 
growth and respectability of the place. 

In 1841 Boyle County was made out of Mercer 
and Lincoln Counties. The town of Danville now 
began to increase in population and wealth. But 
it may be doubted whether Danville of 1867 will 
compare with Danville of 1826 in all that is noble 
and praiseworthy. 



74 SKETCHES. 



A COMPAEISON. 

Long time ago my uncle had a quarrel ^vitli his 
neighbor, M. Their farms joined, and the dispute 
was about a division fence. My uncle swore he 
would whip M. the first opportunity. The parties 
met, and my uncle got badly handled. Afterward, 
when any one pointed to his bruised face and black 
eyes, he would rave and swear that his long hair 
was the cause of his defeat. He went to the barber, 
had his hair cut close to the skin, and kept his head 
greased, and whispered to his friends that he in- 
tended to try M. again. But if he ever made any 
further demonstrations than the shavino; of his hair 
and greasing his head no one ever heard of it. 

THE APPLICATION. 

North and South had a quarrel about a division 
fence. South swore he would whip North on sight. 
They met, and South was badly handled. South 
cut oft' his hair and greased his head, and now 
promises his friends to try it again. But be as- 
sured no further demonstrations will ever be made 
by the South than shaving off the hair and greasing 
the head. 



A FABLE. 75 

A FABLE. 

A HARE offered a -wasier to run ten miles against 
any other animal. The bet was taken by a terrapin. 
At the time appointed for the race they met; and, 
after the preliminaries were settled, both started for 
the goal. The hare was soon out of sight, while 
the terrapin made but poor progress. The hare, 
having accomplished half the distance, said : " I will 
turn aside and wait until the terrapin comes up." 
He sat down and soon fell into a profound sleep. 
Once in awhile he would j?;Wake and say to himself, 
*'My friend, the terrapin, is a long time coming up." 
Having taken another and another nap, he started 
for the goal, sure of winning the race. On his 
arrival, imagine his astonishment when he found 
the terrapin had passed him while he was asleep, 
and was now awaiting his arrival! 

THE MORAL. 

Many men start in life with fine prospects, and 
run swiftly the first half of the journey; but un- 
fortunately they turn aside to the grog-shop and 
various other haunts of vice, and when old are 
astonished that their poor, plodding companions 
have reached the goal of preferment and honor 
before them. 



76 SKETCHES. 

A FABLE. 

A WELL-FED mastiff one day met a gaunt, half- 
starved wolf in the forest. After the common salu- 
tations among brutes of their kind, the wolf began 
to inquire of his sleek, fat friend how he kept in 
such good condition. The dog replied: "I live at a 
wealthy gentleman's house, where they have plenty 
to eat." Wolf — " What do you do to obtain such 
fare?" Bog — "Watch the house, keep off thieves, 
and play with the children." TFo?/'— "Can I get 
such fare for like services?" Dog — "Yes; go home 
with me and you shall fare sumptuously." They 
started to the gentleman's house; but on the road 
the wolf saw some hair rubbed off the dog's neck, 
and inquired how it was done. Dog — " 0, nothing 
but the mark of a collar." Wolf—'' Collar! What 
is that?" Dog — " 0, nothing, only the chain is 
fastened to it when they do not wish me to roam 
about." Wolf — " You wear a collar and chain, 
then?" Dog — ''Yes, sometimes." Wolf— "Then 
I must bid you good-bye and return, for I would 
rather starve in the wilderness than belong to any 
man and be well fed wearing a collar.^' 

MORAL. 

Much is said just now about slavery being better 
for the negro than freedom. If this is true, then 
the wolf made a bad choice. 



GEN. SPEED S. FRY. 77 

GENERAL SPEED S. FRY. 

Kentucky owes a debt of gratitude to General 
Speed S. Fry not to be estimated in dollars and 
cents; yet, strange to say, at the congressional 
election of 1865, his district repudiated its part of 
the debt. 

"What if popular breath should damn the sun 
In his meridian glory? Dost thou think 
His beams would fall less brightly?" 

While I survey his martial form, his benignant 
countenance, his piercing black eye, and in my 
thoughts recur to his past life, I involuntarily envy 
him his history. It will be remembered that at his 
country's call in 1846 he mustered a company, and 
at its head marched off to the plains of Mexico; 
that he was in several hard-fought battles, and par- 
ticularly distinguished himself as a brave soldier at 
the battle of Buena Vista. At the close of the war 
he returned home to resume his profession as a law- 
yer. Then again, at the outbreak of the rebellion 
in 1861, while Kentucky was vibrating between 
neutrality and rebellion. Gen. Fry stepped for- 
ward to strengthen the hearts of Union men, and 
by his soul-stirring and patriotic speeches gathered 
around him the bone and sinew of the country to 
stand by the stars and stripes. Very soon his 
brave regiment was called to meet the enemy at 



To SKETCHES. 

Mill Springs. The rebels were commanded in 
tliat memorable battle by Gen. Zollicoffer. Gen. 
Fry and Gen. Zollicoffer met in honorable com- 
bat, and the latter fell. In conversation, Gen. 
Fry never refers to the circumstance; but I have 
no doubt his kind heart regets the necessity of the 
event, although it happened in honorable warfare. 

Gen. Fry has resigned his generalship; the sol- 
dier is now the citizen, beloved and kindly re- 
garded by all truly loyal men. 



SOUTHERN RIGHTS. 

For thirty years past a diligent search has been 
made for "southern rights." I remember when a 
boy that an exploring company was formed, with 
J. C. Calhoun as chief engineer, to make a diligent 
search for their lost rights. The corps was composed 
of the chivalry of the southern states. Although 
their labor was arduous, they persevered until 
1832, when an ultimatum^ as they conceived, was 
gained, and the Governor of South Carolina issued 
a proclamation to that effect. But some doubted, 
and that stern old republican and patriot, General 
Jackson, issued a counter-proclamation, warning the 
explorers to desist from their efforts, or it might cost 
some of them trouble, if not their lives. After this 
the company carried on their work secretly for thirty 



SOUTHERN RIGHTS. 79 

years ; then they announced their determination to 
find their "rights" or perish in the "last ditch." 
The company was increased. They elected Jeff. 
Davis chief engineer (J. C. Calhoun being dead), 
and started on a new career of investigation and 
search. For a few months, under the auspices of 
Mr. Buchanan's administration, they made great 
progress; but 

"The 'oest laid schemes o' mice and men 
Gang aft agley, 
An' lea'e us naught but grief and pain 
For promised joy ;" 

and they soon found themselves surrounded by in- 
surmountable difficulties. Sir John Franklin never 
was in greater straits in his polar expedition. To 
go back was impossible, and to go forward was ruin. 
Poor fellows 1 They pushed ahead, and for a time 
gained some ground. But vrhat human could con- 
tend with the fates? For four long years they 
were driven from point to point, and surged from 
east to west, and from north to^ south, by huge 
avalanches of potent human forms ready to crush 
them. They endured hunger and nakedness, cold 
and heat, sickness and death in pursuit of their 
^'rights,'' and still the ignis-fatuus eluded their 
grasp. No spot of earth's surface was neglected 
in suing for help, but none was vouchsafed. They 



80 SKETCHES. 

finally gave over the search in despair, declaring 
''all is lost." 

The Yankees, however, seeing their dilemma, 
and knowing that surface explorations had failed, 
in pity to their desponding brethren, suggested that 
as southern rights were not to be found on terra 
firma, perhaps they might be found below the sur- 
face, where they have lain hid since the flood. 
Accordingly, companies of "live Yankees'^ were 
formed all over the country to bore if need be to 
that point 

"Where gravitation, shifting, comes 
The other way, and to some dread, unknown, 
Eternal center downward weighs." 

Their efforts now promise glorious results. " South- 
ern rights" already begin to bubble up from many 
fountains in Kentucky. 

"Thus doth the ever changing course of things 
Run a perpetual circle, ever turning; 
And that same day that highest glory brings 
Brings us unto the point of back returning." 



THE FIRST TEMPERANCE SOCIETY IN 
PERRYVILLE, KY. 

In the year 1831 the first temperance society 
was formed in Perryville, Kentucky. A sermon 
was preached by Rev. H. H. Kavanaugh (now 



METHODISTS. 81 

Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church South), 
after which five hundred and seven persons signed 
the " pledge to abstain from the use of spirituous 
liquors." The roll is in my possession, and meas- 
ures just four yards in length. Many of the signers 
are dead, and through life were faithful to their 
pledge; but not a few of the living, "like the dog, 
have returned to their vomit," and are now living 
monuments of bestial drunkenness. How would 
these gentlemen like to see their names given to 
the public, or will they please call and see the roll? 
I wish that a copy of this roll could be hung up 
in every tavern in the country, to be read by faith- 
less topers that resort thither. 



METHODISTS. 

I HAVE been an humble member of the Methodist 
Church for forty-three years, and when the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church South seceded from the 
mother church, in order to perpetuate their favor- 
ite institution (negro slavery), myself, as well as 
others, viewed the movement as an opening wedge 
to attempt to dissolve the Union, and so declared to 
our brethren at the time. But, you know, the press 
and freedom of speech were prevented by legislation 
from attacking the monster evil of the South. This 
emboldened the seceders, and they began to claim, 

7 



82 SKETCHES. 

as a divine riglit, property in the colored race. This 
gave success to the seceding party among slave- 
holders in the South, and thousands were added to 
their churches. The small minority of preachers 
and laymen were powerless, and compelled to ac- 
quiesce. 

From the time of the separation until 1866, v/e 
saw no way of escape from our unpleasant situation. 
Thank God, the rebellion set us free; and I, with 
"the loyal eighteen," withdrew from a sectional 
church, that had for its chief corner-stone negro 
slavery. For this we have been persecuted and 
traduced. The Revs. Dandy, Northcott, Parsons, 
Johns, Harrison, Bruce, etc., are held up to the 
scorn of the world; and wherefore? Because the 
works of the seceders are wicked, and those of their 
loyal brethren righteous. I have long been ac- 
quainted v/ith ma.ny of "the eighteen," and know 
that they were recognized by almost the whole 
church as dear, pious brethren ; but no sooner did 
they assert their loyalty than rebels every-where 
denounced them, and ceased to love or honor them. 



NATURAL PHENOMENON. 

About ten or twelve years since, in the month of 
February, there was a cold rain, accompanied by 
freezing, for two days. The forests and garden- 



NATURAL PHENOMENON. 83 

shrubbery were heavily clothed with icicles. The 
scene was sublime and imposing. The sky, after a 
while, became cloudless, and the bright rays of the 
sun were poured upon the e^.rth. The trees and 
shrubbery, clothed in ice, presented a panorama of 
surpassing beauty and grandeur. Each branch and 
twig seemed a prism, decomposing the rays of light, 
and reflecting all the colors of the rainbow. The 
whole heavens and earth appeared to be trans- 
formed into a brilliant, sparkling chandelier, emit- 
ting coruscations of light never equaled by human 
art. 

After the sleet had ceased to form, business called 
me to the North Rolling Fork. Reaching the foot 
of the mountain, I savf such destruction of the 
forest as is scarcely ever seen in the path of the 
severest tornado. It is true, trees were not up- 
rooted; but, as far as the eye could reach, the 
branches of the great oak, poplar, chestnut, beech, 
ash, and hickory had been hurled to the ground by 
a weight of ice almost incredible. Small hickory 
trees, one foot or more in diameter, had their tops 
bent to the ground, the enormous load of ice still 
adhering to the boughs, and holding them in that 
position. At the bottom of many large branchless 
trees lay icicles two or more feet deep, covered 
by the limbs from which they had been loosened 
in their fall. 'While I stood in the midst of the 



84 SKETCHES. 

destruction and ruin, I could compare it to nothing 
I had ever beheld. If, however, I may be allowed a 
comparison, the forest looked as if some unearthly 
giant had passed through it, stripping the trees of 
their branches, and casting them to the ground. 
But the most singular feature of this destructive 
sleet is yet to be noticed. The greatest destruction 
of timber was in the northern gorges and on the 
slopes of the mountains, v^hile on their tops and 
southern acclivities little damage had been done. 
And again, the great weight of ice on the trees was 
confined to narrow strips of land running north and 
south, about three hundred yards in vvidth, with 
spaces between of the same width almost untouched. 
The m.arks of this destructive sleet will be visible 
for centuries to come, or until the branchless trees 
by decay or the ax are felled to the ground. 



LETTER TO PRESIDENT JOHNSON. 

Will you suffer an old man to address you a few 
thoughts? From my early youth my position has 
enabled me to be somewhat conversant w^ith public 
men and public measures. Forty years ago, as now, 
there were found in Congress two grand divisions in 
politics, which were perfect antipodes. In talent 
and influence, these two parties were nearly equal 
in the councils of the nation. Mr. Calhoun was the 



LETTER TO PRESIDENT JOHNSON. 85 

embodiment of the Democratic or States Riajhts 
party, while Clay and Webster stood at the head 
of the Whig or National party. At first, it was not 
known what the ulterior plans of the Calhounites 
w^ere. However, it soon became apparent that they 
aimed at nothing short of retaining the offices which 
they now held possession of. As love of power in- 
creased, love of the Union decreased, until, in 1833, 
a southern rights party was organized to resist the 
Federal laws and compel submission to the will of 
South Carolina on the tariff question. Gen. Jack- 
son, then President, nipped the rebellion in the bud. 
This, however, did not humble the conspirators nor 
win their affections ; but they constantly affirmed in 
Congress that the south were an oppressed people, 
bearing the greater part of the burdens of govern- 
ment without an equal share of representation. 
With arguments like these they fired the southern 
heart ; but they did not resolve to strike for inde- 
pendence until it was manifest that they could no 
longer hold the principal offices in the hated gov- 
ernment, and until a sufficient number of the 
states could be pledged to act in concert with them. 
This being accomplished, Mr. Lincoln's election 
was seized upon as a pretext for resistance to the 
Federal authority. Here the great rebellion com- 
menced. 

Let us pause here and survey the ground over 



8G SKETCHES. 

wliicli we liave traveled. Is it not clear that had 
this States Rights party elected their favorite can- 
didate. John C. Breckinridge, the nation vrould have 
been spared, at least for a season, the sea of blood 
and the millions of treasure it has cost to crush the 
most gigantic rebellion the Tvorld ever saw? Thej 
saw that power had slipped from their hands, and 
that, unless they could set up and maintain an inde- 
pendent government, the South was doomed to infe- 
riority in an equal participation of the offices. To 
set up an independent, government was as hazardous 
as the means to be used must be desperate. Hence, 
the first step taken was to seize arsenals and forts, 
rob the mint at New Orleans, and repudiate north- 
ern debts: then arm the citizens of eleven states, 
and send out their spies into eyerj stat« in the 
Union to corrupt and win to their cause officials, 
civil and military. After every preparation was 
made, they only asked ''to be let alone.'' If the 
life of the nation had not been at stake, the request 
might have been granted; but wisdom, patriotism, 
and self-respect as a nation forbade the pusillanim- 
ity of sacrificing the hopes of Christendom in man's 
capability for self-government. We had the alterna- 
tive presented us to put down the rebellion by force 
or become a "bv-word and a hissins: amons; the 
nations of the earth." 

Viewing the rebellion as wicked, and the conspira- 



LETTER TO PRESIDENT JOHNSON. 87 

tors as the worst of all criminals, aiming a death-blow 
at the life of the nation itself, Union men every- 
where bared their bosoms to the storm of war for 
four long years before a gleam of hope cheered the 
hearts of the true patriot. But some were strong 
in faith. Among the number, you have been counted 
as one. For this devotion and zeal in your country's 
cause the people placed you only second to the la- 
mented Lincoln. I am no flatterer, but let me say 
that few if any regret that the mantle of the mar- 
tyred President fell upon your shoulders. You have 
a place to fill that might employ an angel's mind and 
require an angel's arm. You no doubt feel your re- 
sponsibilities to be great, and often exclaim, "Who 
is sufficient for these things?" You may bring an 
honest heart and more wisdom than falls to the lot 
of any one man to the work, and yet fall short of 
coming up to what your country requires for its 
safety and perpetuity. 

This much, at least, is expected of you : that all 
your official acts be marked with justice, as well 
as tempered with mercy. And no one should com- 
plain when the utmost scope is given by you to the 
claims of mercy; but it should be constantly kept 
before the mind that justice has claims that are par- 
amount upon the executive of the nation. 

"He that's merciful unto the bad 
Is cruel to the just." 



88 SKETCHES. 

Executive clemency may pardon, but tlie good 
can never forget that the treason -which has brought 
the nation to the brink of ruin, and entailed upon 
posterity a debt of billions of dollars, ought to pay 
a forfeit greater than has been exacted of it. 

To place the matter in a fair light before the 
world, and show the heinousness of the crime of 
rebellion in this country, let us refer to its con- 
ception, its growth, its assumptions, and its acts. 
It was conceived by the disappointed ambition of 
one man, Mr. Calhoun; its growth was matured 
under the fostering care of bad men and reckless 
experimenters; its assumptions were illogical and 
arrogant — that a state of the Union had a right to 
secede at pleasure. Its acts were such as these: 
arming its citizens, taking possession of United 
States arsenals and forts, robbing banks, firing 
into steamboats on the Mississippi River, and firing 
upon Fort Sumter ; and, after the war Vf as in prog- 
ress, and they had taken prisoners, putting them in 
unhealthy pens, called prisons, where, from insufii- 
cient food and shelter, they were starved to death 
by thousands; and sending out their emissaries and 
spies into every state in the Union to plunder, burn, 
and murder. Added to these enormities, they com- 
missioned privateers to prey upon our commerce; 
and, greater than all, threatened and actually caused 
the assassination of the chief executive. 



LETTER TO PRESIDENT JOHNSON. 89 

And now, after tliej are a conquered and subju- 
gated people, they ask again '-to be let alone'' — to 
be pardoned. Is this right? Is it just? Has not 
justice claims as well as rnercy? It is said, "It is 
godlike to forgive." It is also godlike to punish. 
God knows the heart, and Vv^hen the repentant prod- 
igal comes back he forgives. But have not the 
rebels come back with all their deep enmity and 
hate rankling in their bosoms ? They ask to escape 
punishment. But who has ever heard of one in- 
genuous confession from their lips? None. 

The poor old fanatic or madman, John Brown, 
rebelled against the authority and laws of Virginia, 
and with great pomp was hanged on the gallows, 
the crowd exulting in his execution. But petition 
after petition is sent up to the executive to pardon 
Jeff. Davis, Stephens, Lee, Breckinridge, etc., etc. 
Compared with these men John Brown was a saint, 
and his attempt at rebellion dwindles into a mere 
misdemeanor by the side of their gigantic rebellion, 
costing billions of money and a million of lives, and 
leaving more than a million of the inhabitants of 
the republic in deepest mourning. We can not, and 
humanity and the moral sense of the civilized world 
forbid us to, deal rigorously with all rebels ; but en- 
lightened Christianity and God himself would justify 
us in making examples of the leaders of the re- 
bellion of 1860. The traitor Burr hardly escaped 

8 



90 SKETCHES. 

Avith his life; Callioim was tlireatcned by a will that 
always accomplished what he purposed; yet, for- 
sooth, Davis and company must be pardoned. 

The least that the people can accept is, that the 
leaders in the late rebellion be banished from the 
country they tried to ruin. 

It is true, Wirz, and guerrillas professing to act 
by authority from the Confederate Government, 
have been executed; but this seems to be beginning 
at the wrong end of the line. Make examples of 
the leaders first. 

In reference to your veto of the Freedman's Bu- 
reau Bill, and your reconstruction policy, you may 
be right. I do not, however, comprehend or see 
the whole subject as you do; but, in looking around 
me, I discover that the leading men of the rebellion 
indorse your action in these matters. This makes 
the truly loyal take their steps with caution, lest 
they should sanction that which might cause pos- 
terity and their country to look upon them as co- 
workers in the work of ruin and death. Be assured, 
however, of this: if all ends well, no one will re- 
joice at the result more than 

Your humble servant. 



FACTS FOR HISTORY. 91 

FACTS FOR HISTORY. 

CHAPTER I. 

In 1862 the Southern Confederate army entered 
Kentucky, in two divisions — one under Gen. E. Kirby 
Smith, to take possession of the eastern portion of 
the state ; the other under Gen. Braxton Bragg, to 
operate in the southern counties and make demon- 
strations toward Louisville. From the movements 
of the two grand columns, numbering over fifty 
thousand men in the whole, it seemed to be the 
plan to march from two points on Louisville, and 
possess it as head-quarters for further operations. 

At that time, the Union army that could be 
brought to bear against them numbered under 
twenty thousand. Less than half of this force met 
Gen. Smith near Richmond, Kentucky, and after a 
short engagement were disastrously defeated, and 
retreated upon Louisville. This made clear Gen. 
Smith's way to Lexington and Frankfort. There 
being but few Union troops in the western and 
southern portions of the state. Gen. Bragg marched 
almost unmolested until he reached Bardstown. 
Here he halted, sometimes making demonstrations 
toward Louisville, then toward Danville and Frank- 
fort, communicating with Gen. Smith. Gen. Bragg's 
army, or a great portion of it, marched and counter- 
marched three times between Bardstown and Dan- 



92 SKETCHES. 

ville, recruiting and making speeches to the people- 
sometimes persuading, and then threatening them 
with conscription. Many of the youths joined them, 
while a greater number fled to Louisville, and joined 
the Union army. When Gen. Bragg was marching 
and counter-marching through Perryville, many of 
the citizens showed the greatest signs of joy; many 
shouted for Jeff. Davis and the Southern Confed- 
eracy; rebel flags were displayed by women and 
children ; and some were heard to exclaim, " 0, 1 am 
happy ! my savior has come !" 

Gen. Bragg's army was poorly clad, and worse 
fed, until they reached Kentucky. Here they for- 
aged on the country, paying for what they got, 
however, in Confederate bonds and printed tickets, 
commonly called shin-plasters. Many of the latter 
were printed upon coarse paper, with some one's name 
signed to them in pencil-marks; on the face, "pay- 
able at the corner, w^hen five dollars are presented." 
A financier among them got possession of a press 
in Frankfort, and printed many thousands of these 
tickets, and made them payable at his office in 
Danville. They were signed by a Mr. Stackpole. 
Whether this w^as his real name has not been 
learned. With this kind of trash (declared to be as 
good as gold or silver) in one hand and the bayonet 
in the other, they compelled the farmers and mer- 
chants to sell them their merchandise — bacon, flour, 



FACTS FOR HISTORY. 93 

wheat, corn, etc. The reign of plunder and terror 
did not stop here; Union men were disarmed, and 
paroled not to take up arms against the Confederacy 
while they occupied Kentucky. 

!^ About the 20th of August, Generals Smith and 
Bragg entered Kentucky; and simultaneously Gen. 
Buell, with his fine army, numbering about forty 
thousand men, left Murfreesboro and Nashville, 
Tennessee, and by forced marches reached Louis- 
ville, by way of Eiizabethtown, thence to Salt 
River, thence to the city. Here he met veteran 
troops and new recruits from the north-western 
states. In less than three weeks he had organized 
his grand and invincible army, and was ready to move 
against the enemy. He made his advance in three 
columns — the first on Bardstown, the second on 
Frankfort, and the third through Taylorsville and 
Maxville — all to converge toward Perry ville, whither 
Bragg had retreated and was preparing to give battle. 
On Saturday and Sunday, October 4th and 5th, 1862, 
Gen. Bragg, Gen. Buckner, Gen. Polk, Gen. Cheat- 
ham, Gen. Wood, Gen. Ledbetter, and others were 
busy choosing their ground and making arrange- 
ments for the great conflict. They had possession 
of two fine springs, the only good fountains of 
water in the neighborhood, as there had been a 
drought for many weeks. Gen. Bragg was heard 
to say that the ground he had chosen and held 



94 SKETCHES. 

"was the finest for a defensive battle he had ever 
beheki." 

On Monday morning at sunrise the thunder of 
cannon was heard at Springfield. It was music to 
every loyal ear, and sent a thrill of joy to every 
loyal heart, while it sounded as a death-knell to 
the rebel hosts. On Tuesday morning the sound of 
the cannon came nearer and nearer, until the rebel 
pickets were driven in, and a portion of the Union 
army camped in the Springfield road within three 
miles of Perryville. Now every thing was ready 
for the decisive struggle. On Wednesday morning, 
the 8th, under an almost cloudless sky, picket-firing 
commenced, and the artillery duel was sharp and 
prolonged. This continued up to one o'clock, P. M., 
when the continuous roar of cannon and the rattle 
of small arms plainly told that a great battle was 
in progress. At the commencement of the battle 
some raw troops were repulsed by the rebels on 
the right, and this created much confusion for a 
short time; but, after considerable ground had been 
lost, that lion-hearted patriot. Gen. Rousseau, put 
his cap upon the point of his sword and dashed 
along the line, where shot and shell rained death, 
shouting, " My brave boys, I know you will never 
desert me in the day and hour of danger." Then 
the hottest of the conflict began. The wave of the 
rebel arms was stayed. The left of the Union army 



FACTS FOR HISTORY. 95 

had been driven back over half a mile. While this 
was soinoc on, the Union array had driven back the 
rebels on its left about one mile. At one o'clock, 
when the battle commenced, the lines were south- 
west and north-east, and at the going down of the 
sun the lines were swung round, and pointed south 
and north. 

Two divisions only of the Union army, number- 
ins: not more than twentv thousand men, were 
engaged in the battle, while Gen. Buell, through 
obstinacy or a worse spirit, held back the finest 
troops ever mustered into the service, and suffered 
the brave men under Generals Rousseau and McCook 
to sustain almost a defeat. 

The night after the battle the rebel army began a 
precipitate retreat, and on the morning of the 9th 
only their pickets were to be seen. 

A visit to the battle-field on this day evinced that 
it had been a sanguinary conflict. The dead and 
wounded seemed almost balanced on both sides. 
Both were provided for, and the dead of either 
side buried as soon as possible. Bragg's army fled 
through Danville and Stanford, thence through 
Somerset. Thus ended the boasted rebel supremacy 
in Kentucky. 

This sketch is not intended as a detail of ihe 
rebel invasion of Kentucky, but only to give some 
of the prominent facts, to be hereafter recorded in 



96 SKETCHES. 

history, of the great battle of Perry ville, or, as it is 
sometimes called, "Chaplin Hills," and its antece- 
dents. Some of the facts are from reliable sources, 
Tvhilc others are given from personal presence. 

CIIAPTEE, II. 

On the second morning after the battle of Perry- 
yilie, or Chaplin Hills, I visited the battle-field. In 
passing out on the Springfield road, the fencing was 
all leveled to the ground — here and there a dead rebel. 
After proceeding about one mile, I came to a com- 
pany of Union soldiers, who had collected ten or 
twelve of their dead comrades and were preparing 
to bur}^ them. Thence I proceeded to Mr. Peter's 
house, meeting on the way more than ten thousand 
Union troops, pressing toward Perryville; and, in 
the rear of these troops, hundreds of men who had 
fled from their homes during Bragg's occupancy of 
the state. They were now returning to their homes. 
The first hospital I entered was Mr. Peter's house. 
tiere were about two hundred wounded soldiers, 
lying side by side on beds of straw. Notwith- 
standing the}^ were wounded in every possible Avay, 
there was not heard among them a groan or com- 
plaint. In the orchard close by a long trench had 
been dug, in which to bury the dead; about fifteen 
were lying in a row, ready for interment. 

I passed on northward, and saw on either hand 



;. I 



FACTS FOR HISTORY. 97 

dead men and dead horses, canteens, muskets, car- 
tridge-boxes, broken ambulances, coats, hats, and 
shoes, scattered thick over the ground. I reached 
Mr. Russell's white house, that has been made 
famous in the report of General Buell. Here was 
the center of the great battle. Tlie house was 
dotted over with hundreds of marks of musket 
and cannon balls. All around lay dead bodies of 
the soldiers — Union and rebel. Many long trenches 
were ready-made for their burial. In a skirt of 
woods close by v,^ere scattered hundreds of the dead 
of both armies. The whole scene beggars descrip- 
tion. The ground was strewn with soiled and torn 
clothes, muskets, blankets, and the various accouter- 
ments of the dead soldiers. Trees not more than 
one foot in diameter contained from twenty to thirty 
musket-balls and bwck-shot, put into them during 
the battle. Farms all around were one unfenced 
common. I counted four hundred and ten dead 
men on a small spot of ground. My heart grew 
sick at the sight, and I ceased to enumerate them. 
I continued my visit in an easterly direction, and 
for more than a mile every-where the same evidences 
of battle and death were manifest. I noticed at 
one spot six dead horses, the entire team of a rebel 
cannon. Turning my steps south toward Perry- 
ville, I saw dead rebels piled up in pens like 
hogs. I reached my home, praying to God that 



98 SKETCHES. 

I miglit never again be called upon to visit a 
battle-field. 

This is but tlie first part of the avvful drama. 
For more than ten days after the battle the field 
hospitals, except Antioch Church and Mr. Good- 
night's farm, were being cleared of the wounded; 
the two above excepted contained about three hun- 
dred of the wounded. All the churches and public 
buildings, together w^ith most of the private houses, 
in Perryville, were employed as hospitals. Thou- 
sands of the wounded were brou2;ht in and made 
as comfortable as possible. For months attentive 
surgeons and rich sanitary stores were furnished, 
together with voluntary contributions from the sur- 
rounding country. There was scarcely a house for 
ten miles around that was not encumbered, more or 
less, with the sick and wounded. All seemed to 
bear their burdens and contribute of their substance 
cheerfully to relieve the sufferings of the unfortunate 
soldier. For months hundreds of the wounded died 
every week. 



PERRYVILLE NxVTIONAL CEMETERY. 

In pursuance of orders from General Thomas, a 
corps of workmen, under the direction of Colonel 
R. N. Batcheldor, have just finished the noble and 
delicate work of collecting and re-interring the re- 



PERRYVILLE NATIONAL CEMETERY. 99 

mains of Union soldiers who had fallen in the battle 
of the 8th of October, 1862. The spot of ground 
chosen for the cemetery is one mile and a half from 
the town of Perryville, on the Springfield turnpike, 
on an eminence overlooking the whole battle-field 
in a north-easterly direction. It is a square, con- 
taining just two acres, inclosed by a solid stone wall 
five feet in height, and two and a half feet thick at 
bottom and two at top, with a Jarge stone ca.p. On 
the north side are two gates, aff'ording entrance for 
footmen or carriages. In the center of the grounds 
is a vacant space fifty-two feet square, on which it 
is intended to erect a suitable monument. Leading 
to this vacant space are eight carriage roads, ten 
feet wide — one coming from each corner, and one 
from the center of each side. The grounds are thus 
divided into eight triangular plats, the apex of each 
stretching toward the monument, and its base par- 
allel with the outer wall. Just within the wall, and 
surrounding the graves, is a walk twelve feet in 
width. Commencing at this outer walk, the graves 
are arranged in rows, the feet toward the monu- 
ment, the length of the tiers successively decreas- 
ing to the center. A space of five feet is left 
between each tier, and two and a half feet between 
the graves themselves. 

By the order of General Thomas, agents em- 
ployed in this work were directed "to discharge 

L.iFC. 



100 SKETCHES. 

their duty in the most careful and orderly manner; 
to pay the most scrupulous attention to the dis- 
covery and preservation of all marks of identity; 
to minutely record the precise locality from which 
each body may be removed, making a correct tran- 
script of all inscriptions which may be found on the 
head-boards, carved upon trees, or deposited with 
the body in the grave." 

To carry out this purpose, the officer directing 
the disinterment was furnished with a printed form, 
which was carefully filled out at the grave or trench, 
and transmitted with the bodies to the cemetery. 
The officer in charge of re-interment has entered 
against each name the section and number of the 
grave in which the body is deposited, and has set at 
the head of every such grave a stake, on which is 
carved the same number as that in the printed form. 
These forms are made out in duplicate, and attested 
by both of the above officers. By this system, in 
case any stake should be removed or destroyed, the 
grave may still be identified, and the marks re- 
placed. In all cases where it was possible, the 
dead of the same regiment or state have been 
buried in sections by themselves, in such a manner 
as to admit of monumental or other ornamentation 
by surviving comrades or the states in whose service 
they were enlisted. 

The number interred in the Perryville National 



METHODIST CHURCH IN DANVILLE. 101 

Cemetery is nine hundred and sixty-nine. The 
same corps performed a similar work near Rich- 
mond, Kentucky, where they re-interred two hun- 
dred and thirty-four in a suitable cemetery. 



METHODIST CHURCH IN DANVILLE. 

The history of our beloved Zion in every locality 
should be a matter of interest. It is true, we have 
occasionally biographical notices of the pious dead, 
with some thrilling incidents in the lives of partic- 
ular individuals ; but, as far as I am advised, very 
few have taken it in hand to write the history of 
particular churches. The reason, perhaps, is that 
in doing so the narrator exposes himself to envious 
criticism. 

In full view of the responsibility to be incurred, 
I undertake to give some account of the great re- 
vival of religion in Danville, which commenced in 
the year 1826. 

Valentine Cook, that eccentric and holy man of 
God, came as one "crying in the wilderness. Pre- 
pare ye the way of the Lord." All the region 
round about Danville went out to hear him. He 
wore not soft raiment, neither did he lodge in 
kings' houses. Wherever he went he preached re- 
pentance, and told the people "The kingdom of 
heaven is at hand." He threaded the forests; he 



102 SKETCHES. 

entered into the towns : all heard him gladly. Sin- 
ners were "pricked in their hearts;" and many cried 
out, " Men and brethren, what shall we do ?" 

His successor in the field of labor was that sainted 
father, Nathaniel Harris, whose holy life and urban- 
ity endeared him to the hearts of all. He was the 
very man to reap where Cook had sown. In 1825-6 
he w^as appointed to the Danville circuit. His col- 
league was Evan Stevenson, a stripling of eighteen 
years. Here were contrasted the prudence and 
deep divinity of seventy years with the fervor and 
eloquence of youth. No wonder, then, that their 
labors were blessed in turning many to righteous- 
ness. They commenced preaching in the old court- 
house; but Father Harris was soon compelled to 
retire from the work because of the infirmities of 
age, and Lewis Parker, a laborer of the first class in 
his Master's vineyard, succeeded him. The court- 
house, though large, could not contain their hearers. 
The market-house was substituted. Deep impres- 
sions were made, and several precious sheaves were 
gathered. 

In 1826-7 Rev. Wm. Holeman and Rev. Henry 
S. Duke were sent to Danville circuit. They en- 
tered upon it in the spirit of their Master. The 
harvest was now fully ripe, and they thrust in the 
sickle and reaped bountifully. At this period the 
class consisted of Mrs. E. Fleece, Mrs. N. Crutch- 



METHODIST CHURCH IN DANVILLE. 103 

field, Miss Elizabeth Wheeler, Miss Elvira Crutch- 
field, and Aunt Rachel Mcllvoy and Aunt Sarah 
Carter — the two latter colored women. "Jacob is 
small; by whom shall he arise?" Nearly all the 
members named assisted in prayer-meetings. They 
were not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. 

The first-fruits of their labors were Mrs. Robin- 
son, D. F. Robinson, Miss Polly Bradburn, Mrs. P. 
Tompkins, John Tompkins, Mrs. Dorcas Steward, 
Captain Wm. Steward, James Carter, his wife and 
four children. Dr. John Fleece, Thos. Gray and 
wife, and many others, whose Christian experience 
would fill volumes of deep interest. The Lord 
added to their number daily. Other denominations 
were watered. Candor compels the statement here, 
that at least half the fruit was gathered by the 
other denominations. Many came to us and said, 
" We have been convicted and converted under the 
preaching of your ministers; we love the Methodist 
Church; but your church is small: here are the 
college and learned ministers." I fear that motives 
like these prove a snare to thousands. Policy sends 
many to Tophet. 

Brother Holeman and Brother Duke labored as- 
siduously, and went from house to house, and the 
Lord was with them. Instead of six members, the 
church soon numbered over fifty. The common in- 
quiry on the streets was, " Who was converted at 



104 SKETCIIE!?. 

class, or at tlie prayer-meeting, last niglit':'* '• Wlio 
joined the clmrch?" When the preachers were ab- 
sent. Brother James King, of precious memory, and 
the class-leader, assisted hv the sisters, conducted 
the prayer-meeting. On Sunday nights particu- 
larly the congregations were large. Shouting and 
loud praise to God crowned every coming together. 
Aunt Eachel and Aunt Sarah were heard with de- 
light *' giving glory to God." What church would 
tolerate such worship at the present day? 

Harrodsburg and Danville were now taken from 
the circuit and made a station. Good church edifices 
soon went up at both points, and Brother Holeman 
received the appointment to the new work. After 
him, through a series of years of prosperity and 
great peace, Peter Akers, H. H. Kavanaugh, Milton 
Jamieson. Jonathan Stamper, George McXelly, etc., 
filled the station, assisted at quarterly meetings by 
George C. Light, Wm. Adams, George Taylor, J. G. 
Bruce, etc. Who of the brethren named deserves 
the highest praise for their devotion to the interests 
of the station, it would be diflicult to decide. Suffice 
it to say, Danville and Harrodsburg at the present 
time make two good and prosperous stations. 

That gifted and rare specimen of human kind, 
J. X. Maffit, made two special visits to Danville. 
At each visit a great shaking among the dry bones 
was witnessed. Many this day bless God that they 
ever sat under his ministry. 



METHODIST CHURCH IN PERKYVILLE. 105 

Finally, I may say that the foundations of the 
moral influences now operating in Danville, its public 
institutions, and the prosperity of the churches were 
all laid in the tears and p>rayers of the church, and 
amid the shouts of its membership. " The Lord 
knoweth them that are his." 



METHODLST CHURCH IN PERRYVn^LE. 

From an early date, the citizens of Perryville 
enjoyed occasionally sermons from itinerant preach- 
ers, as they passed through the country; but, from 
its close proximity to Durham's Chapel, little prog- 
ress was made in forming a distinct society until 
the year 1858, when that zealous man of God, John 
C. C. Thompson, was sent on the Perryville circuit. 
He commenced a protracted meeting, assisted by 
Dr. Hicks, then stationed at Danville, and Rev. 
Sniveley, of Xicholasville. From the beginning of 
the services great interest was manifested, which 
increased in intensity until the whole populace were 
moved. The number of converts and the ingather- 
ing into the church of all classes of society was 
great. The meeting continued for many weeks. At 
its close, the brethren proposed to erect a suitable 
church in which to worship. Accordingly, a large 
subscription was raised and the house pjut under 
contract. A gentleman — Jordan Peter, Esq., one 

9 



106 SKETCHES. 

of the new converts — besides giving a large sum of 
money for the enterprise, gave his whole soul to the 
superintendence of the work, and by the fall season 
the house was dedicated to God by a sermon from 
C. B. Parsons, of Louisville. The sermon w^as 
perhaps the most happy and eloquent of his many 
pulpit efforts. Text, "There shall be an handful of 
corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; 
the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon : and they 
of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth." 
Psalm Ixxii., 16. 

After this, Perry ville became a rendezvous of 
Methodism, and prospered greatly under the pas- 
torate of many ministers. 

In the year 1864 that noble-hearted, pious lady, 
Mrs. Margaret McGinnis, died, and bequeathed to 
the church her beautiful cottage residence as a par- 
sonage. 

The chapel at Durham's was now removed, and 
the whole membership identified with the Perryville 
church. 

Among the departed may be mentioned Mrs. 
Mitchell, Mrs. McGinnis, Mrs. L. Stockton, Mrs. E. 
Polk, Mrs. Peter, and Jordan Peter, Esq. 

It may be thought invidious to mention Jordan 
Peter, Esq., as a large contributor to the erection 
of the Methodist Church in Perryville to the ex- 
clusion of the names of other brethren. He has 



woman's rights. 107 

gone to Ms reward; tliey still survive, and can not 
wish eulogies on their liberality held up before their 
eyes. 

The Methodist Church at the present time (1867) 
ought, from the number of its members, its nice 
church-building, and its parsonage, to form one of 
the strongest stations in Kentucky. 



WOMAN'S RIGHTS. 

"Fee simple, and a simple fee, 
And all the fees in tail, 
Are nothing when compared to thee, 
Thou best of fees — fe-male." 

Every woman has a right to a husband. Every 
woman has a right to a home. Every woman has 
a right to a well-furnished larder. Every woman 
has a right to a good garden. Every woman has 
a right to pocket-change. Every woman has a 
right to thread and needles. Every woman has a 
right to convenient furniture, beds, bedding, cooking 
untensils, cupboard-ware, etc. Every woman has 
a right to carry the keys, direct the cooking, and 
superintend the arrangements of the house, as well 
as govern the children — subject to an appeal. Every 
w^oman has a right to the company of her husband, 
except during business hours. Every woman has a 
right to exemption from the polluting breath of the 
drunkard and from profane oaths. Every woman 



108 SKETCHES. 

has a right to kind words and the confidence of her 
husband. Every woman has a right to a new bon- 
net! Accord to women these rights, and there Avill 
be but few unhappy matches. 

"Know, then, tliis truth (enough for man to know), 
That woman's rights is happiness below." 



MAN'S RIGHTS. 

"Though fools spurn Hymen's gentle powers, 

We who improve his golden hours 
By sweet experience know 

That marriage, rightly understood. 
Gives to the tender and the good 

A paradise below." 

Every man has a right to a wife. Every man 
has a right to a comfortable living. Every man has 
a right to rule his own house. Every man has a 
right to disburse the money of the family. Every 
man has a right to the smiles of his w^ife when he 
returns home from business. Every man has a right 
to talk politics and vote at elections. Every man 
has a right to hold office, provided he is capable of 
filling it. Every man has a right to respect, accord- 
ing to his merits. Every man has a right to obedi- 
ence from his children. Every man has a right to 
clean shirts ; to have his buttons all on ; his unmen- 
tionables patched; his socks darned; to wear his 
beard long or short; to gallant his own wife; to 



• CHILDREN'S RIGHTS. 109 

think she is pretty; to talk in her presence; to 
speak his opinion freeij; to call her duck, honey, 
dear, dearest, or angel — then to have a sweet kiss 
for his manliness. 

"0, pleasant is the welcome kiss 
When day's dull care is o'er, 
And sweet the music of the step 
That meets us at the door!" 



CHn.DREN'S EIGHTS. 

"I sported in my tender mother's arms, 

I rode a-horseback on my father's knee; 
Alike were sorrows, passions, and alarms. 

And gold, and Greek, and love, unknown to me." 

Every child has a right: 1. To the tender care 
of its parents; 2. To its mother's breast; 3. To 
stronger food at proper age; 4. To cry or laugh, as 
surrounding objects fret or please; 5. To loose gar- 
ments; 6. To go barefoot; 7. To run, jump, and 
play in the open air; 8. To be exempt from that 
family plague, a nurse; 9. To chase butterflies and 
pluck wild flowers; 10. To gather nuts; 11. To eat 
ripe fruits; 12. To go to grandpa's. 

These rights denied, 0, how miserable is child- 
hood ! Parents should avail themselves of every help 
to rear their children with reference to the develop- 
ment of their physical and moral natures. The first 
right of a child is perhaps properly appreciated and 



110 SKETCHES. 

acted upon. The second is too often denied- Fash- 
ionable ladies leave the nursing of their children to 
serrants. and gossips that step in to see the little 
stranorer. Every thing but a mother's breast is 
artificial food. The third, strong food, is not ap- 
propriate for all children at the same age. The 
derelopment of the w/rniora and molo/m indicate the 
proper time to change. The fourth are natural 
emotions of the mind. Thej develop and expand 
the lungs. They may be restrained, but should 
never be entirely suppressed- The fifth is a plai^ 
dictate of common sense. The sixth hardens and 
invigorates the nervous system. The seventh afford<j 
amusement, and gives elasticity to the muscles. 
The eighth secures against many mal-formations of 
the bodv, and encourages self-reliance. Ninth sdvea 
a taste for the beautifuL The tenth teaches to pro- 
vide a winter's store. The eleventh is healthful and 
pleasant. The twelfth producer regard and due re- 
spect for old folks. 

''Bttt ^r^utM, Ut their offspring hlin'l, 
0>B«aU not paru, iwr turn of r.'-'.-i. 
But er*n in infanej ^tbt^tf-At 
Wk»t tbi«, whiat th' other Ji-oft r;.^,. i>; 



iJST. 



Tt: . , _ ___ /,; K\>vSv y , - ^. . : 2fc 

>se:;:>r:ieii5 oi" Kerb's "It. His :l - ,L 

KAY. He i$ eagaig^e^ ia ^eilis^ a ^iirt^aj: i!iC£j,^t 

v>iie mile est^^ v>f ^itte^e we sto^w s^ii. .3^^ 

v^" iW tVrf Wi }>!3iaie\i 3i s^^fcill ifeeM e< vvmix p«v>- 
:^^:- ^ ' ^^ :V5KV. Tise steJvi - \ -^^ 

:^-- ^ -- -;:i.^ 3i]avi iw\> itnti-- ;?. 

Oae Kes»ft^it\al sass^er^s ^s^vM^iia^ «» oW ?s\>^>^^2i^3i!ai 

r^Toh :^f <^:"~^ 'r'^ . ^ ■ : " '' . - : " ' - ' ~ ' ; :^ 
-^ :r^:v:v , . . . . ,^ 

ihiia^ ri^i, I li^ $!i?>e« s^^jg^ i^ exe*iia^ Wivw? 
lii^jii c\^xiiav>?\i xae iJicsk? lnvfecjms we^re m lite aei^gV 
V>r>>>vi^ s\> I Ki3i<ie ii ;ji jvm^ iv> ctfcB ,^^ '":^ ,^M 
S.\ :v*hr5i3Ui *avi s-ee if :ifcl) w^st weH. As^ I , ,\^ 

ihe field I ^w\ ;jk)K>ttl IW\> ikiillkxttw) TtMvk i» ;j|vtv^Uft\V 

v>f Mie^ *ttd be^weea i»e wid i^-. /' V 

:»ri;uvs T^^rii^v He Ve^>i cji ^l^^. . ^ 



*a ^,-#» ^^^,'. 



112 SKETCHES. 

the Scotchman when plowing toward him, then he 
moved nearer as the Scotchman went toward the 
other end of the fiehl. This maneuver the savage 
performed three different times. Each time as the 
Indian advanced on the Scotchman I advanced on 
the Indian. The decisive moment, had now come, 
as I was not more than fifty yards from the Indian, 
and the Indian not more than fifty yards from the 
Scotchman. I saw the Indian attempt to level his 
rifle, but as quick as thought I let off my old trusty 
Bessy. At its sound the Indian sprang forward and 
fell, discharging his rifle as he fell, but without effect. 
The Scotchman let go the handles of the plow and 
ran with such force as to make a breach in the brush 
fence. I called to him several times, which seemed 
only to increase his flight. I followed, and when I 
arrived at the fort the Scotchman was telling his 
fellows about his escape from a whole band of In- 
dians. I explained the whole affair, but they would 
not believe me until I conducted them to the field 
and gave them a full account. We took the dead 
Indian's scalp and returned in triumph to the fort." 
The old hero rises and says to the company: 
*' Gentlemen, when I meet you again, I will give 
some more incidents connected with border life and 
Indian fighting." 



THE BATTLE OF THE BOARDS. 113 

THE BATTLE OF THE BOARDS. 

In the early settlement of Kentucky, when the 
Indians still roved through our dense forests, plun- 
dering and murdering the white . inhabitants, three 
men left Harrbd's Station to search for their horses 
that had strayed off. They pursued their trail 
through the rich pea-vine and cane, that every- 
where abounded, for many miles. Frequently on 
their route they saw signs that a party of Indians 
were in their vicinity, hence they took every step 
cautiously. Thus they traveled all day. Toward 
night fliey were many miles from home, but they 
continued their search until darkness and a cold 
rain that began to fall drove them to take shelter 
in an old deserted log-cabin, thickly surrounded by 
cane and matted over with grape-vines. After they 
had gained this pleasant retreat they held a consul- 
tation, and agreed not to strike a fire, as the Indians, 
if any in the neighborhood, knew the location of the 
cabin, and, like themselves, might take shelter in it, 
and murder or expel the white intruders. Finally, 
the three now in possession concluded to ascend 
into the loft of the cabin, the floor of which was 
clapboards, resting upon round poles. In their 
novel position they lay down quietly side by side, 
each man holding his trusty rifle in his arms. Thus 
arranged, they awaited the results of the night. 
10 



114 SKETCHES. 

Thej had not been in their perilous position long 
when six well-armed Indians entered the cabin, 
placed their guns and other implements of warfare 
in one corner of the house, struck a light, and began 
to make the usual demonstrations of joy on such 
occasions. One of our heroes wished to know the 
number of the Indians — he was the middle man of 
the three, and was lying on his back — and, as 
hilarity and mirth "grew thick and fast" among 
the Indians, he attempted to turn over and get a 
peep at things below. His comrades caught him on 
each side to keep him from turning over, and in the 
struggle one of the poles broke, and with a tremen- 
dous crash the clapboards and the three men fell 
in the midst of the Indians, who with a loud yell 
of terror fled from the house, leaving their guns, 
and never returned. 

The three men who had thus made a miraculous 
escape from the savage foe remained all night in 
quiet possession of the cabin, and in the morning 
returned to the station with their trophies. 

Whenever the three heroes met in after life they 
laughed over their strange deliverance, and what 
thev called Tlie Battle of the Boards. 

This story was related to me by Dr. Tomlinson, 
late of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, who received it 
from the mouth of one of the parties. 



GLAD I OWNED NO HORSE. 115 

GLAD I OWXED NO HORSE. 

On the day of , 18 — , Judge J and 

myself left Perryville on horseback to go into the 
country about five miles. We had heard that horse- 
thieves were in the neighborhood, and we took great 
care to watch our horses, and not leave them alone. 
We arrived at a gentleman's house just at twelve 
o'clock. The family was called to dinner. The 
gentleman had a beautiful and accomplished daugh- 
ter, his only child. She had just returned home 
from a boarding-school, where she had received a 
diploma from able instructors. The father's heart 
was filled with joy. It was a reception dinner. 
The gay, the beautiful, and the elite of the neigh- 
borhood were present. We were announced by a 

servant. The gentleman came out. Judge J , 

my traveling companion, told him the object of our 
visit was to see his daughter's diploma, as we had 
been told it was very flattering and very beautiful. 
The delighted father invited us to alight and dine 
with him. We hesitated to leave our horses unpro- 
tected; he insisted; and, after a short parley, we 
hitched not ten yards from his door, and entered 
the stately mansion. We were well received, and 
never before had my eyes beheld such an assem- 
blage of youth and beauty. The fair graduate had 
not yet left her seat at the piano, where she had 



116 SKETCHES. 

been playing sweet airs for the enraptured com- 
pany; her delicately-tapered and snowy-white fin- 
gers still rested on the keys. She arose, and at the 
announcement of our names advanced with a smile 
that rivaled that of Venus, and soft yet sparkling 
eyes that would have sent light and heat into the 
darkest and most frigid recesses of a bachelor's 
heart. She conducted us to choice seats at the 
table. The viands were delicious, and as change 
after change was made, each dish had a better flavor 
than the one that preceded it. We ate and quaffed 
and talked, and ate and quaffed and talked again, 
until we exclaimed : 

"We can not think of sorrow now, and doubt 
If e'er we felt it; 't is so dazzled from 
Our memory by this oblivious transport." 

The sun was now beginning to cast its shadows 
toward the east. The diploma was brought forth 
and presented with a modest grace that bespoke a 
sensitive mind, and at the same time conscious 
merit. The crowd read, admired, and praised — 
" the parchment was almost transparent; the plate 
on which it was printed was beautiful in design and 
neat in execution ; the signatures of the professors 
were elegant." The conversation was then turned 
to other subjects, and the visitors began to disperse. 
The Judge and myself enjoyed the feast, the wine, 
and social mirth, but we were extremely delighted 



GLAD I OWNED NO HORSE. 117 

with the gracious smiles and sweet music of the fair 
graduate. 

"But it is past — bright transient gleam 
Of sunshine in life's dreary waste, 
Even as some half-remembered dream 
Of happier times — 'tis past! 'tis past!" 

We bade adieu to all. But, horror of horrors ! 
my horse was gone ! My horse was stolen, saddle 
and bridle — all gone ! Judge J and myself in- 
dulged in many surmises — "We were sold; we were 
taken in a snare." All this was whispered in an 
undertone of voice, for many that had dined with 
us stood round about condoling with us, and won- 
dering at the boldness of the thief. They threatened 
to pursue and lynch the rascal if found. I declined 

their services. But Judge J kindly offered to 

let me ride behind him, and we would pursue the 
track of the horse, and perhaps recover him. 

We started off at full gallop. The Judge seemed 
to be very comfortable before; but, me! it did 
not fare so well with me behind. 

We had proceeded thus about four miles, through 
thick forests and across dangerous streams, when 
suddenly we came upon a camp of gypsies, about 
one hundred in number, reclining upon their packs, 
their fire-arms in their hands. We approached, but 
very cautiously, you may be sure. When, shade 
of Morgan ! what did I behold ? My own favorite 
Matchless in the midst of the camp, the saddle and 



118 SKETCHES. 

bridle not yet stripped off. The Judge and I were 
in a fix; and, as you know "prudence is the better 
part of valor," we politely asked to have our for- 
tunes told. The eldest witch in the company told 
us to " cut the cards,^' and the Judge went forward 
and cut for us both, while I held the horse. After 
looking very grave for a few moments, and occa- 
sionally casting her eyes toward heaven, as if con- 
sulting her guardian spirit, she said : " Gentlemen, 
I perceive you have been attending a convivial 
dinner party; you were well feasted; the music 
was enchanting; the diploma was beautiful." Then 
she cast her eyes again upon the cards that lay 
spread before her, when she started back, as if some 
new vision or revelation was just made to her mind, 
and said : " I perceive you lost a horse at the party. 
You will never recover him, as he is now twenty 
miles from this place." 

This was too much, for I could at that moment 
have reached out my hand and stroked the glossy 
skin of my highly-prized MatcJiless. My prudence 
forsook me — my blood was at 100 Fahrenheit — I was 
preparing a blow at the old woman's head — when I 
awoke, and ivas glad I owned no horse, and that it 
was all a di^eam ! 

"Dreams are but interludes which fancy makes; 
When .monarch Reason sleeps, this mimic wakes; 
And many monstrous forms in sleep we see 
Which neither were, nor are, nor e'er can be." 



drunkard's dream. 119 

"DRUNKARD'S DREAM." 

I RETURNED home one night from a saloon and 
threw myself down upon my bed, undressed, and 
was soon in a profound sleep, when I dreamed that 
years before that date I had married a beautiful 
wife, one of my own choice; that my ample fortune 
not only supplied us with the necessaries but the 
luxuries of life. I dreamed that we took position 
in the best society, and were courted and flattered 
by a large circle of friends. We were thought to 
be the happiest pair in all the land. I dreamed 
that my wife was known in the streets by her buoy- 
ant step and cheerful countenance; our children 
grew up like "olive plants about our table;" they 
were proud to call me father. I dreamed I pros- 
pered in business — my name was associated with all 
that was good and great — I had unbounded credit; 
posts of honor were bestowed upon me by the voice 
of the people; I was elected to Congress; I was 
elected Governor; I was elected to the Senate of 
the United States. I dreamed that by electioneer- 
ing for these oiBices I had acquired my first habit 
of dram-drinking. At first I only tasted, to show 
myself sociable. But I had so many friends — they 
must all be treated alike. Then landlords were so 
clever — they controlled a great many votes. 

I dreamed that the practice of drinking and treat- 



120 SKETCHES. 

ing thus stole upon me ; so from occasional drinking 
I became a regular customer at the bar. I had 
many boon companions ; they flattered and praised 
me more than ever. I stayed out late at night, and 
only returned home to chide my angel of a wife, 
if I could only find the least thing wrong in her 
manner of housekeeping. Then I dreamed my 
children began to shun me ; my wife no longer 
wore her wonted smile; my popuhxrity waned; my 
acceptances were no longer at par. All saw that I 
was hurrying on to bankruptcy and ruin. I dreamed 
my wife's health failed. The doctor told us she was 
laboring under heart-disease. I proposed to travel, 
to visit medical springs. My mind was bewildered, 
for I still loved her. I made many resolves to 
reform — to do better. I would decline office; I 
would take the 2^^^'^9^ > ^ would join the temperance 
society. I dreamed that in a few weeks my wife 
died, broken-hearted. Still I visited the grog-shop, 
indeed every place where whisky and brandy were 
sold. My poor orphan children were neglected, 
and not half provided for. I could not bear to hear 
their cries, so I went again to the grog-shop. I 
found there my old companions. We quafied the 
flowing bowl, and indulged in the indecent jests and 
ribaldry of such places. I dreamed I returned home 
at twelve o'clock at night, and threw myself down 
upon my bed, cursing bad luck, cursing God, and 



THE ONLY GHOST I EVER SAW. 121 

cursing my associates who had led me to ruin. I 
dreamed my eyes were bloodshot, my face — indeed 
my whole body — bloated, and sent out a strong 
stench of whisky and brandy. I awoke, and lo ! it 
was all reality. 

"0, brandy! Tbrandy! bane of life, 
Spring of tumult, source of strife; 
Could I but half thy curses tell, 
The wise would wish thee safe in hell." 



THE ONLY GHOST I EVER SAW. 

When Kentucky was almost a wilderness, the 
people were in the habit of gathering their neigh- 
bors together to help them build their log-cabins, 
and roll the logs on the new ground they were 
clearing. When the labors of the day were over, 
the violin was introduced, and boys and girls, old 
men and their wives, partook of the fun and frolic. 

"Alike all ages, dames of ancient days 
Have led their children thro' the mirthful maze; 
And the gay grandsire, skilled in gestic lore, 
Has frisked beneath the burden of three-score." 

The dance had continued until a late hour of the 
night, and the company began to leave. I had a 
dark and unbroken forest to travel throuo;h in order 
to reach home. I had no one to accompany me. I 
took the small beaten path, and had proceeded about 



122 SKETCHES. 

a mile, thinking on tlie pleasures of the past, and 
wondering who, of all the rosy-cheeked and bright- 
eyed damsels that night in the dance, would become 
my wife, when I heard the piteous cry of some lost 
child, as I supposed. I turned round and beheld 
a form about three feet high, standing erect not five 
feet from me. I first spoke to it; no answer. I 
approached it; it receded from me, but still kept 
up its piteous cry. I walked on, for I could not 
quicken my pace on account of the profound dark- 
ness ; it followed. I began to think of all the ghost 
stories I had ever heard. I frequently turned round 
and attempted to catch it in my hand, but without 
success. Once, when it seemed to stand still, I 
reached out my open hand, and poising it directly 
over the head of the apparition, I carried it down 
slowly nearly to the ground. I felt nothing. My 
hair stood on end; a cold tremor ran through my 
whole frame; all the errors and sins of my life 
crowded into my mind in an instant of time. I 
thought of home and friends far away. What to do 
I could not tell. However, I ventured forward, and 
soon came to an open spot of ground. Still the 
child, animal, ghost, or whatever it was, cried after 
me. I turned round again, reached out my hand as 
before to grasp it; but, horror of horrors! my 
hand descended lower and lower, I grasped and 
grasped, and felt nothing until my hand reached the 



LOVE POWDERS. 123 

ground, when I picked up — what do you think? A 
ghost. No, gentle reader, a poor little half-starved 
kitten! From that time forth I have never believed 
in ghosts. 



LOVE POWDERS. 

It is not perhaps known to one in a hundred 
of the youth of the present time (1867) that this 
wonder-working medicine was ever used by the 
fathers at the first of the present century. It was 

discovered by a poor mechanic of G , a native 

Kentuckian. Notwithstanding he enjoined great 
secrecy on those who purchased and used it, yet 
his fame and the utility of his medicine got abroad, 
and he had many customers. 

I was so fortunate as to be indentured as an ap- 
prentice in the very town in which he lived. I was 
a well-grown boy, about seventeen years of age, and 
it was my habit to visit my aged mother once a 
fortnight, who lived four miles in the country. 
About half-way between the village and my mother's 
house there lived rather a wealthy farmer, Mr. 

C , who had two beautiful daughters, Mary and 

Rebekah. Mary was the eldest, and very lovely in 
form and feature. Rebekah was her junior by about 
two years. The family record, into which I got a 
sly glance months afterward, made her twenty-four 



124 SKETCHES. 

years old, altliougli slie called herself eighteen. She 
had an exquisite form, auburn hair, hazel eyes, a 
delicate hand, small foot, the neck of a swan, her 
mouth handsomely chiseled, and her teeth rivaling 
pearls. To see her was to love her. 

" Love drew her image on my heart of hearts, 
And memory preserves it beautiful." 

One day, as I was passing to the country, I ven- 
tured to call at the gate and ask for a drink of 
water. Miss Rebekah came to the door and invited 
me into the house. I declined, telling her it was 
late and I must get on. She then asked me if I 
would have a glass of sweet cider. I thanked her, 
and she brought it out. I drank it, bade her good 
evening, and passed on. That night, you may be 
sure, my mind was troubled; for, after the cidey-, 
love entered into me. I rolled and tossed upon my 
bed until midnight, occasionally uttering a half- 
suppressed groan. My mother, who was very infirm, 
and consequently a wakeful person, called to me to 
know if I was sick. I answered, " Not muchr I 
then heard her say, "Poor boy, he labors so hard, 
the walk home is too much for his feeble frame." 
Ah! dear fathers and mothers, you little know what 
it is that most troubles the hearts of youths, unless 
you remember your own youthful ailments forty 
years ago. 



LOVE POWDERS. 125 

In the morning my purpose was fixed — I would 
marry Miss Rebekah, that I would. I immediately 

thought of Dr. B 's love powders. Perhaps they 

might greatly assist me. After breakfast I hurried 
off to town to consult the doctor. He told me he 
had none of the powders on hand, but on the next 
Saturday he would have a package ready, and give 
me directions how to administer them. That was 
an anxious and tedious period of my life — minutes 
seemed lengthened into hours, and hours into days. 
The auspicious day at last arrived. It was not my 
usual time to go to see my mother, but I ventured 
to ask the foreman to grant me the privilege. He 
at first refused, but immediately said, " If you will 
catch and saddle my horse, and Mack my boots, you 
may go." Jacob did not perform his task for Leah 
and Rachel with greater alacrity and delight than I 
did for the foreman. My servitude for the day was 
ended. I put on my best " Sundays," washed and 
powdered my skin, stuck a small vial of bergamot 
drops in my pocket, and then stood before the glass 
for a few moments adjusting my stand-collar and 
combing my hair. I then went straight to the 
doctor's office. He had the love powders prepared, 
wrapped up neatly in a piece of white paper, labeled 

'' Br. B 's magic love poivders, warranted to cure 

where the directions are strictly followed." The 
doctor then delivered his prescription verbally. It 



126 SKETCHES. 

ran as follows: "You must prepare yourself with 
some stick-candy, candy-kisses, and some raisins — 
figs will do. Roll the whole in the powder. Visit 
the lady at her father's house. The first dose must 
be stick-candy; then draw your chair a little closer, 
and incline your head toward her, if her parents 
are not in sight; then take her by the hand, 
gently pressing it; then administer the other two 
doses — the candy-kisses first, and the raisins or figs 
last. The two last need no manifestation; the work 
is accomplished, and you have nothing to do but to 
consult the old people." 

I paid my half-dollar for the package and de- 
parted, the happiest of men. I started straight for 
the country. It was sundown when I arrived at 

Mr. C 's house. Miss Rebekah was at home : 

she received me graciously. After the common sal- 
utations, I began to tell Miss Rebekah of the many 
pretty girls I had made the acquaintance of in town. 
I was fond of their company, but did not think I 
could ever love any of them. I did not think they 
were calculated to make their husbands happy — to 
all of which Miss Rebekah assented with a smile. 
I ofi'ered her a stick of candy. She took it in her 
delicate fingers and looked at it as much as to say, 
"What does this dust on the candy mean?" For a 
few moments I feared that the cheat was found out, 
but my fears were removed when she ate it, asking 



LOVE POWDERS. 127 

no questions. I then leaned toward her and at- 
tempted to take her hand; she declined, and I made 
no further advances. She then informed me that 
she had an engagement to attend a party that even- 
ing. I asked her if she would accept of my com- 
pany. With a gracious smile she accepted. It was 
in the month of October: there had been a Ions: 
drought; the leaves were beginning to fall. She 
soon prepared herself — putting her shoes, and then 
her hose, knit by her own delicate fingers, and a 
coarse towel, into her reticule — and we departed 
for the place of fun and frolic. When we had 
traveled about half the journey I gave forth the 
candy-kisses. She ate them, and put the love verses 
they contained in her bosom. Xow I was a happy 
man. I was sure the love poivders had. hegan to 
work. We went on, and soon reached the point of 
destination. Before we entered, she sat down and 
wiped the dust off her feet with the coarse towel. 
She then drew on her hose and shoes. I modestly 
turned my head aside while she thus prepared her- 
self, but I could not help casting a dy glance at her 
beautifully-tapered ankle and delicate foot. 

We entered. The youngsters were in the midst 
of a play — " tired of ray corapany'' As we changed 
and whirled about, I thought I noticed that Miss 
Rebekah was never '■Hired of her company'' when 
I was by her side, and I am sure I could have sat 



128 SKETCHES. 

there forever. Before she was compelled to leave 
my side I administered the last dose, the raisins. 
Next was introduced, '•'paying pawns.^^ This was 
my favorite play — there was so much kissing in it. 
The first article was held over Miss Jones's head, 
and the question asked, "What must he do that 
owns this?" Answer, "He must kiss Miss Rebekah 

C ." That was too good, for it was my own 

red bandana. You may depend upon it our lips 
soon met, but not in silence, for it was an old- 
fashioned Kentucky buss, which threw the whole 
house into a titter. After some other amusements 
the company broke up. It had rained very hard 
while the frolic was going on. 

Miss Rebekah and I started for her father's house. 
Before she left the yard she shed off her hose and 
shoes, and placed them again in her reticule. I 
would have given a kingdom, had I possessed it, to 
have been permitted to carry the precious treasure, 
but she kept it in her own hands. We had not gone 
far w<hen we came to a small creek ; its waters had 
been greatly swollen by the rain. Thinks I, what 
a blessing! fortune certainly favors me. I pro- 
posed to bear Miss Rebekah safe and dry across 
the stream. She assented, and in a moment I landed 
her safely on the shore nearest her home. I now 
thought it a favorable time to make full proof of 
her love for me, and the effect of the love poivders. 



THE DEVIL IN HIS TRUE FORM. 129 

As I sat her down upon the ground, I drew her 
gently toward me and attempted to kiss her. She 
repelled me, and said: "Young man, you are too 
familiar; something has certainly crazed your brain." 
I, however, ventured to put the pointed question. 
She answered, "My heart has been given to an- 
other; next Thursday is the wedding-day.^^ Blood 
and thunder! All was over — I was lost — I was a 
used-up man. We reached her father's house. I 
lodged there all night, and on Sunday morning re- 
turned to G , pondering over my bad luck. I 

saw the doctor daily on the streets, but he never 
asked after my health, and of course I said nothing 
to him. This was my first and last experience with 
love powders. 

Young friends, I now advise you to avoid quack 
doctors and their love poiuders. 

''Almighty pain to love it is, 
And 't is pain that pain to miss; 
But of all pains, the greatest pain 
It is to love, and love in vain." 



THE DEVIL IN HIS TRUE FORM. 

At the present time (1866) there is much excite- 
ment and wonder at the many marvelous accounts 
by respectable individuals, both black and white, 
given of his Satanic Majesty appearing to them in 
11 



130 SKETCHES. 

bodily form. There seems to be a perfect corrob- 
oration in these statements, which give to them the 
color of truth; but many are incredulous. To such 
let me say, decide not too hastily, for very recently 
I saw that which curdled my blood and made my 
hair to stand on end, and made me cry for help when 
none was near. 

I was wandering down Chaplin Creek, near the 
great battle-field of 1862, when I came to a mill- 
pond. Just below the dam, my attention was ar- 
rested by a huge monster in the form of a snake, 
larger than any anaconda I had ever read of in his- 
tory. His length seemed to be about one hundred 
feet, his body as large as a hogshead, his eyes as 
large as common plates, his head in proportion, 
forked tail, nostrils distended, and mouth wide open, 
and his breath ernitting a sulphurous or snaky odor. 
I attempted to draw back from his presence, but 
found myself powerless, for he had fixed his fiery 
eyes upon me, and I was transfixed to the spot; 
and, notwithstanding my terror, I was charmed with 
the variegated color of his scales, which presented 
all the beauties of the rainbow. But the most 
remarkable thing about this apparition, ghost, or 
whatever else you please to call it, was, that it spoke 
to me with human voice, warning me not to ap- 
proach nearer; that the strong stench of his breath 
was instant death; that he was only in pursuit of 



THE DEVIL IN HIS TRUE FORM. 131 

those who had slandered him, saying there was no 
devil. After a long colloquy with me, after this 
sort, he sank down into the water, which could not 
have been more than six inches deep, and disap- 
peared. I left the place with quick step and glad 
heart, and returned home. 

Many who have lately seen his Satanic Majesty, 
in different forms and other places, have verified 
their statements by affidavits, but where I am known 
this will not be necessary. If any are unbelieving, 
let them remain so ; it is no concern of mine. 

J. J. Polk. 

P. S. — Stop, reader; I forgot to tell you it was 
only a dream. 

"Night visions may befriend; 
Our waking dreams are fatal." 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 



CHAPTER I. 

"Union is strength." 

The Union, what is it ? A family of thirty-three 
states, occupying a space of many millions of square 
miles. They till the soil, and reap every rich har- 
vest, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the 
great lakes of the North to the palmy shores of the 
South. They had one common father — the Revolu- 
tion of '76. They had been nurtured at the same 
breast — the Federal Government. They have been 
counseled and taught by the same great patriots 
and statesmen — Patrick Henry, Washington, Ham- 
ilton, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, Webster, 
and Clay. Were there ever before preceptors such 
as these ? Under their guidance, peace and concord 
prevailed. The common name of American was a 
broad shield to every citizen, of whatever branch of 
the family. Europe, Asia, and the isles of the sea 
pay them profound homage. Their commerce, their 
mechanic arts, and their military prowess make them 



134 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

respected by all nations. One heart pulsates tlirougli 
the whole — '' the hand can not say to the foot, I have 
no need of thee; nor the eye to the ear, I have no 
need of thee." Every member is necessary to the 
strength, beauty, and life of the body. The great 
artery, thank God, is still free, sending out the 
^varm current of friendship and love from the center 
to the remotest part of the Union. "What though 
misguided fanatics of the North and turbulent tories 
of the South "wail and complain, and conceive that 
they can improve on the work of the fathers. Their 
puerile efforts at destruction will only show that 
"what God has joined together" God alone can 
sunder. It is true, many demagogues. North and 
South, have recently 

"Played such fantastic tricks before high heaven 
As make the angels weep," 

Yet we are one; one in our origin; one in our 
interests; one in our commerce; one in the arts; 
one in cultivating the soil; one in the navy; one 
in the army; one by railroads; one by telegraphic 
wires; by canals, by lakes, rivers, and seaboards. 
Under the broad iegis of the Constitution the 
rights of every citizen are protected. Every state 
revolves in its own orbit, attracted to the center 
by a force equal to a steady motion and a cohesive 
existence. 



KEFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 135 

It is my deliberate opinion that a dissolution would 
be next in its sad consef|uence3 to that last earthly 
catastrophe — 

"The crush of matter and the wreck of worlds." 

Indeed, human reason left free to choose, the latter 
would be preferred. Are we ashamed of our cog- 
nomen — United States? Are we wiser or better than 
our fathers, whose blood and treasure laid the foun- 
dation-stones and built the superstructure ? Are we 
tired of our personal security? Are we regardless 
of our great artistic, agricultural, and commercial 
interests ? Are we desirous to fall like Lucifer, and, 
when too kte, lament with that arch-fiend — 

"Me headlong from the towering heights of heaven 
He hurled to bottomless perdition'? 

Are we ready, with sacrilegious hands, to pull down 
and scatter the fairest temple on earth, and trail its 
honor and glory in the dust? What state, what 
hand will attempt to do it? If there be such an 
one, every philanthropist will join in the prayer — 

"Is there not some chosen curse, 
Some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven, 
Red with uncommon wrath, to blast the man 
Who owes his greatness to his country's ruin." 

This chapter was ■HTitten in the end of IW). 



136 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

CHAPTER II. 

"Blessed are the peace-makers." 

The true position of Kentucky in the present 
crisis is to assume the stand of a pacificator. She 
has nothing to gain, but much to lose, by throwing 
herself into the arms of any new confederacy, North 
or South. 

I would call on my brethren — sons of Kentucky — 
to look secession square in the face, and tell me what 
will be our condition when we have forsaken the 
" stars and stripes " of our glorious Union flag, and 
adopted, in imitation of one of our sister states, some 
hideous emblem of our separate and independent 
action. For union with North or South, to secure per- 
manent peace, is impossible. Grant that we league 
with the South, what interest, save a single domestic 
institution, will bind us together? The agricultural 
pursuits of Kentucky are as dissimilar from cotton- 
growing and sugar-planting of the South as either 
of the two is from the manufactures of the North. 
If we can not now abide a slight inequality of taxa- 
tion, and an occasional taunt from a sister state, sup- 
pose you that, in a southern confederacy, Kentucky 
would quietly submit to a direct tax upon her prop- 
erty to support the civil and military establishments 
of the new government? If Kentucky is to bear 
her due proportion, how is the money to be had but 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 137 

by direct taxation? She has but little unsold lands; 
she has no seaboard where she can exact tonnage- 
duties; she has no great surplus in her treasury; 
no rich plate nor furniture in her churches, like 
Mexico, to pledge for loans. In the name of reason, 
then, I ask, can we depend on individual munifi- 
cence? This resource would fail us in less than 
twelve months, then we would be compelled to fall 
back on direct taxation. 

If this is to be our glorious Southern Confederacy, 
the people of Kentucky in connection with it would 
be worse ofi" in ten years than the serfs of Russia. 
"If dissolution should come, let Kentucky act like 
South Carolina — stand out singly and alone, asking 
no counsel but from her own noble sons. But until 
then let her take in her right hand the Federal 
Constitution, and in her left the star-spangled 
banner of the Union, and say to the North and the 
South: "We adjure you, by the memory of Wash- 
ington, Franklin, Jefi"erson, Madison, Jackson, and 
Clay — by the battles of Lexington, Yorktown, 
Bunker Hill — by the blood of Warren and his 
compatriots — by every drop of blood spilled in the 
struggle for independence — by the tears of the few 
survivors of the Revolution — by all you hold dear on 
earth, to desist from your work of ruin and death." 
A dissolution of the Union can result in nothing 
less. Let every patriot and philanthropist pray 

12 



138 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

devoutly — " God ! give us not over to self-delusion, 
nor into the hands of the destroyer, but stay the 
foaming waves of destruction; spare the heritage 
bequeathed to us by our fathers. Give the people 
to appreciate their manifold blessings ; send us help, 
for vain is the help of man ; restore us our wonted 
peace at home and respect abroad. For in thy hand 
are the 'issues of life and death.' Amen." 

We hear it reiterated from the halls of Congress 
and from the press, that politicians and the coun- 
selors of the nation are incapable to solve the prob- 
lem of the present crisis, and restore peace. Our 
help, then, is in God. Awful will be the reckoning 
before an impoverished people, and before the throne 
of God, of that people or state who are willing to 
accept of no compromise, but are determined to cut 
down the tree of liberty, and scatter its foliage and 
its fruits to the four winds of heaven. Stop — stop ! 
Think— think ! And all will be well. 

written in 1860. 



CHAPTER III. 

Have we a government ? Ask the Revolutionary 
sires; read the Declaration of Independence; care- 
fully examine the Constitution of the United States; 
look upon the "stars and stripes;" remember the 
war of 1812; see the prosperity of the whole 
people. North and South. 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 139 

The respect shown us by the nations of the earth 
shall testify. Compare us with other people or 
nations; estimate our commerce; behold our un- 
paralleled growth; calculate the inestimable bless- 
ings of free speech, a free press, and freedom of 
conscience; a judiciary, and the administration of 
the laws; the weak protected and the strong held 
in check; vice discountenanced and virtue exalted; 
truth prevailing over error. Every-where the strong 
arm of power is reached out to help the innocent, 
and none suffer but for crime. 

All these, and a thousand more, with one voice pro- 
claim our nationality — show that what our fathers 
founded was a government, a permanent govern- 
ment, as wise and as beneficent as the world ever 
saw. 

Wicked men and devils, I trust, will not be able 
to prevail against it. The dearest rights of the 
people, the mild reign of Messiah, is bound up in it. 
"The gates of hell shall not be able to prevail 
against it." It may encounter great perils — it may 
be cast into the fiery furnace for a season — but it 
will come out unscathed. It is passing an ordeal 
now which will deepen its foundations, strengthen 
its pillars, and make the whole superstructure more 
glorious than ever. Let no one flatter himself that 
thirty millions of people will give up the heritage 
bequeathed to them for the abstractions and chi- 



140 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

meras of secessionists and cormorant politicians. 
What if millions of lives and millions of treasure 
shall be expended to preserve the Union — posterity, 
our children, shall be enriched by it. We live not 
alone for ourselves, but for generations to come. 
The present struggle must be regarded as a war for 
right against wrong; for civilization against heath- 
enish darkness; for liberty against oppression. 

Progress is one of the immutable laws of the 
universe, and God can as soon fail of his purpose 
as suffer wicked men to resolve the elements of our 
nationality back into chaos. Nay, be assured that 
America is the land of the free, and that this re- 
bellion, once suppressed, will teach transgressors 
that every machination must fail. If thirty years' 
plotting, assisted by all the strategy of arch fiends 
in human shape, can not enslave us, then traitors 
and madmen may skulk and do their deeds of dark- 
ness upon individual persons and unprotected prop- 
erty, but wholesale murder and robbery will not 
again be attempted. 

We can not see the end now of this sanguinary 
struggle, but we feel confident that the result will 
point to a brighter and happier era in the history of 
nations, and millions yet unborn will see the ma- 
turity of institutions founded in wisdom, and perpet- 
uated for the redemption of humanity from every 
shackle of oppression and wrong. The heart of 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 141 

every philanthropist and patriot beats full and 
strong with hopes of the future. We must not 
falter, but be strong in faith. 

Written in 1861. 



CHAPTER lY. 

What the conservative men of the North have done for the 
South. 

They made a constitution guaranteeing to the 
South negro slavery. They purchased Louisiana 
to increase slave territory. They passed the Mis- 
souri Compromise to satisfy the clamor of the South 
for more slave states. They purchased Florida and 
Texas for the same purpose. They passed the Fugi- 
gitive Slave Law for peace' sake. 

It is notorious that these measures never could 
have been adopted but for the votes of the conserv- 
ative men of the North, yet all this did not satisfy 
the greed of the South for negro slavery and the 
extension of slave territory. Like the horse-leech, 
they suck and feast upon human blood and tears, 
and ever cry, " Give, give." After they had received 
the last favor in that direction, they determined to 
divide and ruin what their own hands had helped to 
build. No wonder a just God, through proper in- 
strumentalities, thwarted their purpose and released 
the oppressed. 



142 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

I am glad that many of those who were foremost 
to inaugurate the rebellion have had their eyes 
opened, and now recognize in the result the hand 
of Providence, and are determined no longer to 
fight against God, while there are others who seem 
willing to resist, though God himself were to warn 
them of their wicked course. Foremost among these 
will be found men who profess to be called of God, 
and sent to preach the gospel. They declare that 
they will know nothing among men but "Jesus 
Christ and him crucified," while their words and 
actions show clearly that they are determined to 
know nothing among men but "negro slavery." 
Shame — shame, gentlemen ! " If you love not 
your brother, whom you have seen, how can you 
love God, whom you have not seen?" 

Written in 1865, 



CHAPTER V. 

I HAVE read somewhere the history of a people 
who, when oppressed by their ruler, rebelled, and 
after hard fighting gained their independence, estab- 
lished a government of their own, and boasted that 
it was the freest government under the sun. They 
had in their midst, however, two distinct (in color) 
races of men. One they persecuted, the other they 
enslaved. One, as they conceived, impeded their 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 143 

progress in settling and improving the lands, the 
Other was made to serve involuntarily — to clear the 
forests and till the ground. The governing race 
made special laws for the slave. To him were denied 
the privileges of marriage and self-control. He was 
bought and sold at the pleasure of the master. If 
any one spoke or wrote against the system, he was 
treated as a culprit; he was mobbed; he was im- 
prisoned. Men and women professing Christianity 
held that God had ordained that Ham should serve 
them. Thus the philanthropist was gagged, and 
men and women were driven to market like cattle, 
and sold in shambles. 

Some kind reader will inquire. Where did this vile 
race, descendants of Shem, live? Why did not God 
let loose his vengeance on a people so cruel, so lost 
to all the finer feelings of humanity? Why did not 
Christendom unite to chastise such wickedness? 

Be not in haste. "God is not slack concerning 
his promise;" and he has said, "Though the wicked 
join hand in hand, they shall not go unpunished." 
Hear the sequel. After a lapse of eighty years of 
boasted security and, as they thought, unparalleled 
prosperity, God came down to reckon with this 
people. He commissioned a man like unto Moses 
to lead the oppressed descendants of Ham out of 
bondage. It was done with a high hand and out- 
stretched arm. Now that land is emphatically " the 



144 KEFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

land of the free and the home of the brave/' and 
all nations rise up and call her blessed. 

"A day, an hour of virtuous liberty, 
Is worth a whole eternity of bondage." 

Written in 1866. 



CHAPTER yi. 

When I was a small boy my mother owned slaves. 
I played with the nigger, I talked with the nigger. 
I ate with the nigger. I loved the nigger. I pitied 
the nigger. My mother taught me that at the age 
of twenty-one I would be a free man. I then asked 
the question, "Will Jess and Bill be free when they 
arrive at that age?" The answer was, "No; they 
are niggers^ and must remain in bondage forever." 
I could see no reason for this ; and, when by myself, 
I pondered upon the miseries of the black race. For 
certainly my innocent heart could not see why dis- 
tinction, so far as freedom was concerned, should be 
made between the white and the black man. From 
that day forward I determined to do every act that 
the constitution and the laws of my country would 
allow for the emancipation of the colored race. For 
years and years multiplied, the laws of the state in 
which I lived gagged the press and the freedom of 
speech upon the subject of slavery. It was as much 
as a man's life was worth to say he was in favor of 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 145 

emancipation. Slave-owners and slave-dealers had 
it all their own way, except this : they dared not ask 
a constitution or laws to make slavery perpetual. 
But South Carolina and other slave states tried to 
attain this end by seceding from the parent govern- 
ment. The result is known. Instead of riveting the 
chains of the poor black man, their rebellion knocked 
off his shackles, and he now stands forth redeemed — 
free. It is the Lord's doings, and it is marvelous in 
our eyes. 

What is now our condition ? The censorship over 
the press is abolished, and good men, as well as 
nigger drivers^ are tolerated in an expression of 
their opinions with reference to the peculiar insti- 
tution^ as well as on all other subjects. Certainly, 
in the language of my friend in the country, "Lin- 
coln guns have a good effect upon evil-doers." 
Copperhead politicians and subdued secessionists 
have received a death-stroke. They may show re- 
maining signs of life while the sun shines, by wig- 
gling their tails, but at the going down of the sun 
their carcasses will become putrid masses for vul- 
tures to prey upon. 

I am not a poet, therefore I must borrow the fol- 
lowing stanza for the benefit of these agitators : 

"Go wrap your heads in blankets 
From niggers borrowed 
Until brains grow inside of 
Your foreheads." 

Written in 1866, 



146 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

CHAPTER VII. 

"When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were 
like them that dreamed." 

The present era is the most important and won- 
derful that has occurred, save one, in the history of 
the world. The advent of the Messiah stands pre- 
eminent as giving '' liberty to the captive." By it 
the world's redemption is complete. Next it in im- 
portance is the liberation from bondage of four and 
a half millions of human beings, which has just been 
accomplished by the same almighty hand. When the 
oppressor and the oppressed contemplate the strange 
deliverance they are " like them that dream." They 
can not yet realize that God has "wrought a work 
in their day" that will be chronicled throughout 
time, and mark the cycles of eternity. The in- 
stigators of the great war from which we have just 
emerged "meant it for evil, but God meant it for 
good." It is true, he has suffered the land to be 
baptized in blood to expiate the great sin of the 
fathers, and the same sin that we, their children, 
allowed. 

The children of Israel were in bondage four hun- 
dred years in Egypt, but at the end of that period 
God commissioned Moses to liberate them — to lead 
them out. To accomplish this great design, he saw 
fit to let the destroying angel put to death all the 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 147 

^'first-born of Egypt," and then overthrow Pharaoh 
and his hosts in the Red Sea. But the purpose of 
God was only half accomplished. He suffered his 
own people, who had escaped from Egyptian bond- 
age, to starve in the wilderness — to be bitten to 
death by "fiery serpents" — until forty years had 
passed, without reaching the " promised land." Even 
Moses, the general, and Aaron, God's high priest, 
were denied the privilege of crossing the Jordan. 
Only Caleb and Joshua, of all that were born in 
Egypt, reached the land that God had promised his 
people for a possession. The Bible history assigns 
the reason, without which the whole would be an 
impenetrable mystery. The Israelites in the wilder- 
ness rebelled against Moses and against God, and 
Moses and Aaron did not perfectly obey the Great 
Head; hence, their journeyings were tortuous, and 
attended with much suffering and loss of life. The 
history is instructive. 0, that the liberated sons of 
Ham of our day and land may profit by it! Per- 
adventure, a Caleb and a Joshua will yet be found 
among them to lead them to a land of rest. 

But to return. The Christian era, at its birth, was 
baptized with blood. The introduction of Protest- 
antism in Europe received a like baptism. Our own 
dear land was bought with much blood; and now, 
at the end of seventy years, the oppressor and the 



148 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

oppressed are set free by the shedding of blood. If 
the sentiment of the poet is true, 

"He alone 's the freeman 
Who blushes alike to be or own a slave," 

then it follows that the master as well as the slave 
has by this strange providence passed from under 
the yoke that was galling and oppressive to both. 

Henceforth it will depend upon the parties, re- 
spectively, whether the boon shall prove a blessing 
or a curse. God has done the work for them, and 
now requires that they shall occupy as rational 
beings. The world's history furnishes many ex- 
amples where divine goodness exalted a people and 
guaranteed them prosperity on condition of obedi- 
ence, and afterward, for their sins, divine justice 
sorely chastised and destroyed them. So it may be 
with us. "Be not high-minded, but fear." Have 
we not suifered enough? Have we not learned by 
the past that " virtue exalteth a nation, but sin is a 
reproach to any people?" 

Written in 1866. 



CHAPTER yill. 

John Wesley, the founder and father of Meth- 
odist churohes in America, was an abolitionist; and, 
as such, constituted and established said church on 
the principles of universal freedom. In the excel- 



' REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 149 

lent "Discipline," dictated by him, the members 
of the church were prohibited from "buying men, 
women, and children with the intention of enslaving 
them." Gradually this rule was ignored, and the 
southern ministers claimed that it should apply only 
to the traveling or itinerant preachers. In this 
construction of the rule the churches of the North 
acquiesced until 1844, when they found that many 
of their southern brethren, one of them a bishop, 
had become slave-owners. The attempt to call their 
disorderly brethren to account culminated in a sepa- 
ration of the church North and South. From that 
day until the present the breach has been widening, 
greatly to the detriment of civil society and the 
church of God. 

These facts every honest man knows; yet, with 
the effrontery of Satan himself, ministers of the 
church South now declare that slavery was not the 
cause of separation. If it was not, pray tell us 
what was the cause. No, gentlemen; the ignorant 
will laugh at you, and the wise and the good will 
detest your duplicity for attempting to assign any 
other cause. Here lies the secret of all your ado 
about this matter just now. The rebellion is crushed; 
the Yankees have stolen your gods ; the negroes are 
gone; you can no longer worship the creature, and 
to worship the Creator you are ashamed, after your 
apostasy from the first principles of the mother 



150 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

church. Come back ; come back, I beseech you ; do 
your first works over; repent in sackcloth and ashes. 
Perhaps God will forgive your treason against the 
government and the church of God. 

I do not intend these remarks for any minister 
who has not a copy of " Confederate Generals, and 
what they have done," nor for those whose albums 
are not graced with the photographs of Jeff. Davis, 
Lee, Beauregard, Johnston, Stonewall Jackson, John 
Morgan, Booth, and Mrs. Surratt. I will excuse, 
also, those who would not ignore the Bible teachings 
while they swore allegiance to the Southern Con- 
federacy, provided always that it retained negro 
slavery. 



CHAPTER IX. 

At the origin and adoption of the Federal Con- 
stitution negro slavery existed in the colonies. It 
was tolerated to insure the more ready adoption of 
the bond of union between the states. The slave- 
trade was at that time extensively carried on be- 
tween the colonists and Africa. It was provided, 
in the framing of the law of the land, that this trade 
should not be prohibited until the year one thou- 
sand eight hundred and eight. After that period 
the trade was to cease forever. 

Trusting to the Christian philanthropy and justice 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 151 

of the people composing the states, respectively, the 
framcrs of the Constitution looked forward to the 
time as not remote when slavery would be abolished. 
It is clear, from the debates in convention, and the 
correspondence of these men, that if they had an- 
ticipated the persistence of many of the states in 
holding on to the system, they would have wiped out 
the stain from their country's escutcheon at once. 

The purchase of Louisiana and Florida, and the 
annexation of Texas, opened a wide door for the 
extension and perpetuation of slavery. The love of 
gain stifled conscience, and men professing godli- 
ness, who but a short time before were almost per- 
suaded to emancipate their slaves, emigrated to the 
newly-acquired territories, taking their negroes with 
them, to raise sugar and cotton. 

The increase of the blacks, and the restricted 
boundaries of the slave states by the Missouri Com- 
promise, made it necessary that something should 
be done to ventilate the peculiar system; hence, the 
compromise was repealed and the fugitive slave law 
enacted. But this was not enough. Slavery must 
be protected in the north-western territories. 

At this point forbearance was exhausted, and 
Christian virtue could no longer be outraged with 
impunity. The free states, with great unanimity, 
elected a President upon a platform opposed to 
slavery — the first since the formation of the gov- 



152 REFLECTIOXS OF AN OLD MAN. 

eminent. The slave states now determined to sep- 
arate from the North, and in 1860 South Carolina 
passed her ordinance of secession. In 1861 ten 
other states followed. 

Here commenced the great rebellion. The first 
two years of the struggle victory seemed to perch 
upon the banner of the Confederates. They boasted 
of their success, and considered their chivalry and 
military prowess more than a match for their adver- 
sary. At this fearful moment of the struggle Mr. 
Lincoln issued his emancipation proclamation, after 
which the Confederates lost heart, and the lovers of 
freedom, reassured, put forth their whole strength to 
crush the rebellion. It is a fact that will be recorded 
in history, that this masterly stroke of the chief 
magistrate sealed the fate of the rebellion; for from 
that date the God of battles gave victory to the 
hosts on the side of universal freedom, until the 
rebels, weakened by desertion and decimated by 
battles, surrendered, in 1865, to General U. S. 
Grant. No providence of God is more clearly 
manifest than this — that God sufi'ered the madness 
of the people in rebellion to rage and spend itself 
in the uprooting of slavery. When this was accom- 
plished, he stayed the proud waves of war by the 
inimitable generalship of a Grant, a Sherman, a 
Sheridan, and a Thomas. 

What shall we say to these things? What can 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 153 

"we say? It is the God of the whole earth — he has 
done right. Let none of us insult him by murmur- 
ing or repining, lest a worse national curse befall us 
than the civil war from which we have just emerged. 
Let us learn to deal justly with the Indian and the 
negro, and our stability and prosperity as a nation 
will be as durable as the sun. "We will then be the 
light of the whole earth. 

Written in 1S66. 



CHAPTER X. 

There is nothing about which editors of a certain 
class make such an ado as the freedom of speech 
and freedom of the pre?s. I have had some experi- 
ence on that subject. About twenty-six years ago, 
having sold my printing establishment to Mr. Dis- 
mukes, of Danville, he proposed to continue the 
"Olive Branch," with Mr. J. G. Birney as the edi- 
tor. It was announced in the prospectus that it 
would advocate the emancipation of the colored 
race. The citizens of Danville and vicinity held 
private consultations, and organized a mob to de- 
stroy Mr. Birney' s press and drive him from the 
state. To save the town from the disgrace of such 
a proceeding, I prevailed on Mr. Dismukes to put 
the press, types, etc., into my hands, as I held a 
mortgage on the same. The mob had met, but 
when they learned the facts they retired peaceably. 
13 



154 REFLECTIONS OP AN OLD MAN. 

I wonder how many of these champions of the free- 
dom of the press are now engaged in conducting 
the copperhead sheet called the "Kentucky Advo- 
cate." Twenty-six years ago they were willing to 
mob Mr. Birney and his press. Ah ! it is your bull 
that has gored my ox. The same men who, years 
gone by, thirsted for the blood of emancipationists, 
and gagged the press by their mobocratic spirit, 
now call loudly for the freedom of the press, that 
they may fan the fires of treason, and help to in- 
augurate another civil war. 

No, gentlemen; every candid, honest man sees 
and knows that free speech and a free press are 
better protected and more tolerated now than at 
any former period of our country's history. As 
long as you were allowed to mob and hang aboli- 
tionists, and tear down their presses, and suppress 
discussion upon the peculiar system^ the press was 
free. But now that philanthropists and good men 
speak out and condemn your treasonable utterances, 
for which some of the most rabid of you have been 
brought under military rule, the cry is set up of 
"abridgment of free press." The scale is turned, 
the avalanche is descending, and any that are foolish 
enough not to hide themselves must suffer for their 
obstinacy "A wise man foreseeth the evil, and 
hideth himself, but the fool passes on and is pun- 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 155 

isbecl." What argument was not permitted to do 
the sword has accomplished, and they that are not 
blind will accept and act upon the issue. 

Written in 1866. 



CHAPTER XL 

Many years ago an eccentric man came to Lex- 
ington, professing to be sent of God to reform the 
churches. He visited the Methodist Church one 
night while services were in progress, and at the 
back of the congregation began to shout and pray 
in a loud voice. The preacher went to him and 
commanded silence. The reformer ran hastily out 
of the house, crying aloud, "When the d — 1 is in 
the preachers, what can you expect of the people?" 

At the present day we may very appropriately 
ask the same question. Many preachers of the 
different denominations seem very tenacious about 
doing any thing that would show submission- to the 
government under which they live. In every pos- 
sible way, in their church judicatories, they show 
their contempt for the civil and military authorities 
of the land. Placing themselves upon the civil 
judge's seat, they presume to decide whether the 
laws passed by Congress and the state legislatures 
are constitutional or not. The cry is, " This is op- 
pression; that is tyranny; the other is an infringe- 



156 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

ment of religious liberty." We may ask these breth- 
ren: ^'Who made you rulers and judges over us?" 
Would it not be better if you would practice upon 
what you preach, " Know nothing among men but 
Jesus Christ and him crucified." 

Every man must sustain one of two characters in 
the government where he lives : he must be a peace- 
able, law-abiding man or a revolutionist. "They 
that are not for us are against us." The right of 
preachers, as well as others, to think, speak, ap- 
prove, or condemn laws and governments no one 
will question; but, while this privilege is granted 
them, they must be "obedient to the powers that 
be," like other men. If they refuse, they are "blind 
guides leading the blind." All their utterances show 
that they want the Southern Confederacy and negro 
slavery; but as they can get neither, let them sub- 
mit to the government they have with as much 
grace as possible, knowing they will fare as well as 
other men in society. 

They have a commission as civil officers to sol- 
emnize marriages, and as such are bound to take 
the oath to support the Constitution and laws of the 
United States. Many of them do this, and then 
declare they owe no allegiance to secular rulers or 
governments. How, then, can they escape the con- 
clusion that they are perjured individuals? 

Written in 18G6. 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 157 

CHAPTER XIL 

At the commencement of the rebellion there 
lived, in a small village in Kentucky, a clergyman 
who arrayed himself on the side of Jeif. Davis's 
government. He converted his pulpit into a polit- 
ical rostrum, and from Sabbath to Sabbath preached 
treason. In some places the congregation heard 
him with approbation. He attended political meet- 
ings, and by his speeches inflamed the minds of the 
populace by the rehearsal of imaginary wrongs. He 
was busy in the social circle denouncing the govern- 
ment, and declaring that the stars and stripes were 
lowered never to rise again. For all this service, 
rebels who had never before noticed him suddenly 
became his admirers and friends. Voluntary con- 
tributions for his support were lavished upon him. 
He became a very hero, promising to fight " as long 
as he could hold up his little finger" for the South- 
ern Confederacy. But the time soon came when 
the boasted success of the cause of the South began 
to vanish, and our hero fled to parts unknown, with- 
out firing a gun or killing a single man. 

This is but the counterpart of the character of 
hundreds in Kentucky who made every efi'ort to fan 
the flame of rebellion, and when they saw the deadly 
strife raging took refuge behind their age or clerical 
robes to avoid the danger. They remind me forcibly 



158 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

of a man I once knew, who was always foremost 
to get up quarrels and strife among neighbors, and 
when a fight was about to ensue, would run round 
and beg the parties "for God's sake not to involve 
him in the difficulty." 

During Bragg's occupancy of Kentucky, many 
gray-headed sinners were seen dragging youths by 
the arm and placing them in the rebel ranks. They 
ran to and fro, exulting and shouting for Jeff. Davis 
and the Southern Confederacy; but when Bragg 
fled from the state they retired to their homes, and 
with saintly countenances declared they were loyal, 
and had done nothing to aid the rebellion. Their 
profession of innocence is like that of a notorious 
rogue and glutton I once knew, who visited a family 
where the young ladies, one dark night, were pre- 
paring pies and sweet-cakes for Christmas. Jones 
lingered about the kitchen until he stole a pie. The 
ladies saw it, and one of them went out and pre- 
pared herself in the garb of a tall white ghost, and 
confronted the thief. When the ghost approached 
him, seeing no way of escape, he put on his best 
manners, and said: "Good evening, Mr. Devil; I 
never did any harm in my life, but stole a pie and 
threw a whetstone at sister Sal." I imagine, when 
" Old Nickie Sootie " calls for these innocent souls, 
they will say, "Good evening, Mr. Devil; we never 
did any harm in our lives, but shouted for Jeft'. 
Davis, and tried to destroy the government." 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 159 

Since the rebellion is crushed, many of these 
gentlemen have become very pious, and are " deter- 
mined to know nothing among men but Jesus Christ 
and him crucified." What a pity they did not know 
this text was in the Bible many years ago, as it 
might have saved a million of lives and millions of 
treasure. 



CHAPTER XIIL 

"He 's a bad surgeon that for pity spares 
The part corrupted till the gangrene spread, 
And all the body perish; he that 's merciful 
Unto the bad is cruel to the just." 

There appears to be, just now, earnest pleading 
for mercy toward culprits. The good of society de- 
mands that sympathy should extend both ways — to 
the dead as well as the living. The argument may 
be, that '' the past can not be recalled — what is done 
can not be undone." The penalty of the law is not 
inflicted for the benefit of the dead, but to preserve 
and secure the rights of the living. Every law, 
human and divine, must have its penal sanctions; 
without them governments are a mockery. "Every 
offense should receive a just recompense of reward." 
Laws enacted and never executed give a license to 
the wicked, and cause them to perpetrate deeds of 
darkness and death with impunity. The divine law 
is, " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his 



160 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

blood be shed." And again : " Ye shall take no 
satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is 
guilty of death; but he shall be surely put to 
death." 

The criminal code of England and America is 
but a transcript of the divine law, and yet we have 
those among us professing to expound Moses and 
the prophets who openly denounce governments 
and the execution of the laws. As is the priest, 
so are the people among whom he labors; hence, 
wickedness runs riot through the land. The man 
who expiates his crime upon the gallows is sainted 
and pronounced a martyr. There is a vast differ- 
ence between the men executed for crime at the 
present day and those put to death by law in former 
centuries. The latter confessed their sins, and im- 
plored the forgiveness of God and men, while the 
former meet death with a sullen vindictiveness and 
a lie upon their lips. Like a notorious murderer, 
lately hung. In his last moments he confessed that 
he had killed a dozen or more men, but excused 
himself by saying "they were all scoundrels, and 
ought to have died long before they did." Nature's 
poet has said 

"The fear o' hell's a hangman's whip 
To haud the wretch in order." 

But assassins and highwaymen of the present age 



1 



KEFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 161 

seem to ignore and defy God, angels, heaven, devils, 
and men. Such fiends are well described by the 
great dramatist — 

"A stony adversary, and inhuman wretch, 
Incapable of pity, void and empty 
From every drachm of mercy." 

Yet, forsooth, these are the men the nation is called 
upon to forgive and patronize. Good government 
forbids it; justice forbids it. Posterity demands at 
our hands that we define clearly the line between 
vice and virtue ; that the laws be strictly and rigidly 
enforced. 

Our constitution prohibits "cruel punishments," 
and they are not inflicted; but the fathers were too 
good and wise to abolish capital punishment entirely. 
They clearly foresaw that, with all the helps society 
could bring to bear, vice would scarcely be kept in 
check. And, indeed, we may fear that a few more 
strides, and virtue and honor will lie bleeding in the 
dust. 

While society asks not for the thumb-screw, the 
boot, the guillotine, and fire and fagot, it does de- 
mand that those who violate the laws of the land 
shall be held strictly accountable, and that no false 
notions of the claims of mercy should usurp the 
throne of justice. 

Written in 18G6. 

14 



162 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

When a boy, in the harvest-field, at the muster, 
at the election, I deplored and condemned the use 
of ardent spirits. I saw many quarrels, broils, 
fights, loss of noses, ears, and maimed bodies as 
results. I then vowed eternal opposition to all 
grog-shops and every inebriating draught. I am 
now old, and every day of my long life has added 
new convictions to my mind that drunkenness is 
the great curse of my country. I see all classes of 
society carried in a maddening whirl by it toward 
the gates of eternal perdition. The worst feature in 
it is the fact that those who give tone to society — 
lawyers, doctors, and politicians — are the foremost 
to treat, drink, and debauch community. They visit 
every tavern and drinking-saloon, often reeling home 
in a state of beastly intoxication. The heart sickens 
at the sight, not knowing what to do ; yet something 
must be done, or we are a ruined people. A remedy 
can be applied. We should first drive from ofiice 
and from our employ all dram-drinkers, and set the 
strong seal of reprobation upon whisky-shops and 
their customers — suffer them not to become asso- 
ciates of our families. If it is a young man, let 
him know that his practices are odious and hateful 
to us. I have known lawyers suspend the court to 
visit the drinking-saloon. shame, where is thy 
blush! 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 163 

I would call upon the public and the press, and 
all good men, to do their duty, and frown down this 
monster vice of the land. Let such a shower of 
invective and anathemas be poured upon all tipplers, 
grog-shop loungers, and drunkards as will drive 
them to reformation. Many of them are not past 
redemption. Let temperance lectures be solicited 
and attended. 

Written in 1866. 



CHAPTER XY. 

"Large streams from little fountains flow — 
Tall oaks from little acorns grow." 

We inquire not whether "the former times were 
better than these." The present is fraught with 
many evils — many that might be remedied. It 
should be the business of every philanthropist to 
cast in his mite. Soft indulgences, pride, a desire 
to set our children forward in the world, are the 
bane of society. Jacob put upon Joseph a coat of 
many colors: this excited the envy of his worse- 
clad brethren. If Joseph became a good man, no 
thanks are due to his father. God in his providence 
often brings good out of evil; but is the guilt of the 
sinner therefore the less? 

As parents, we have under our care immortal 
spirits — the present and the future of society. 
" None of us liveth to himself." How, then, shall 



164 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

we perform the delicate work of training up our 
children for society? The reflections of an old 
man would suggest: 

1. Yex not the infant in the cradle; and, if the 
development of the body as well as the mind is de- 
sired, let the child be loosely and plainly appareled, 
according to the season. A nurse other than the 
mother is a nuisance. 

2. Let no one frown upon, tickle, or tease the 
young immortal. When meddled with improperly, 
many a beautiful flower never blooms: the rude 
hand of the dresser is a blight upon it. 

3. When your child is a prattler, be sure always 
to wear a smile yourself. The child reads the book 
of nature early. We stop not here to inquire 
whether the disposition of the child is inherent or 
not — 

"'Tis education makes the man." 

4. Now it walks, talks, and begins to have wants 
peculiar to its nature. parents! God has placed 
you as guides and leaders before your progeny; 
take every step cautiously. If the parents quarrel 
and manifest ill temper, the child catches the infec- 
tion. As well might you expect your offspring not 
to imbibe measles, after having come in contact with 
the peculiar virus, as that George will not imitate 
the tempers, words, and actions of pa and ma. 

5. George begins to fancy and desire a whip, a 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 165 

knife, a hammer, a ball, or a -vvagon. These are 
deemed improper playthings: he must have mar- 
bles, learn to shoot them across the room ; he must 
have imitation dirk-knives, pistols, etc. Then pa 
or ma says, " Shoot little sister." Bang — bang ! 
" Sister, fall over and pretend you are dead." Here 
George is taught both cruelty and hypocrisy. 

6. Six summers have passed. *' My dear, do n't 
you think we ought to celebrate George's birthday? 
He is our first-born." There are usually two pets 
in every family — the first-born and the last-born, 
Jacob-like. "Well, I'll make a little feast. But 
whom shall we invite? Colonel B's two sons, Hon. 
H's son, the parson's sons?" The father interposes: 
"You must not leave out neighbor C's children; 
they are honest and good boys." "What I the 
shoemaker's children? Never! George shall not 
associate with mechanics' sons." Here the boy, 
that loves every body, is taught to be a respecter of 
persons, and has a feast at which all the boys in the 
neighborhood are to partake, irrespective of charac- 
ter, provided they come from fine mansions and 
their fathers are titled. It's a nice time; not a 
poor boy among them. Make no feasts at all, or 
follow the Bible direction, Luke xiv., 13. 

7. The table is removed, and a romp begins. 
They have had a little wine at supper. The boys 
begin to talk of father's horses, and servants, and 



166 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

carriage. George shows his marbles, his imitation 
pistol. Woe be to that parent whose son was at 
the party if he refuses a similar outlay ! Thus the 
infection spreads. I would to God it was confined 
to those "who, being often reproved, harden their 
hearts and stiffen their necks." 



CHAPTER XVI. 

In olden time, when beasts and birds were pos- 
sessed of speech, the owl and eagle made a league 
to protect each other's interests, and one of the 
stipulations was that they would not interrupt or 
prey upon each other's offspring. When about to 
separate — "Stop," said the eagle; "give me a de- 
scription of your young, that I may keep the faith 
of our treaty inviolate." "Well," said the owl, 
"my children are easily distinguished from all the 
rest of the feathered tribe. They have the most 
perfect symmetry of form, small and beautiful eyes, 
and when very young they have such delicate heads 
and mouths, and, above all, the sweetest voices!" 
"It's enough," said the eagle. In his aerial flight 
in search of prey he espied, in an old hollow stump, 
a nest of ugly, big-eyed, big-headed, ill-formed ani- 
mals, half bird, half beast. Looking down upon 
them, he said : " Certainly, these are not the off- 
spring of my friend, the owl;" and, so saying, he 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 167 

made a meal of tliem. Just at the fatal moment 
the owl came up, and railed upon the devourer, 
charging him with an act of bad faith. "Blame 
not me," said the eagle; "your own overweening 
love of your children has caused their destruction." 

My child will not lie ; he is the prettiest thing in 
creation ; then, so sweet ! Do n't you love him ? And 
all this, though he has told you ten stories for every 
truth, and been biting and scratching the nurse for 
an hour. For his behavior, or rather to purchase 
his good behavior, his pockets are stowed with can- 
dies, marbles, and imitation pistols, and he is prac- 
ticed in shooting at all in the house. Then he must 
have a dime in his pocket to spend at the toy-shop. 
Thus fond, doting parents treat and rear their chil- 
dren. 

We next see the boy in the streets or marble-yard 
"playing keeps," and learning blasphemous oaths. 
He comes home at dinner, shows his gains. The 
parents say, "That's right, my son; don't let any 
of those boys beat you." Blood and soiled garments 
show he has been in a fight. "Did you whip him? 
Who was it? What! that poor ragged pauper's 
son? I have a great mind to go into the street 
and whip him for you. If any boy strikes you 
again, and you do n't fight, I will whip you when 
you come home." The boy has now grown to be a 
young man. He frequents the tavern— at first to 
listen, then to partake. 



168 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

It is ten o'clock at night. The good mother says 
to her better half: "My dear, where is George?" 
A servant is dispatched to hunt him. Presently he 
enters, not in the best plight imaginable. Well, he 
has just been "sowing a little wild oats." In his 
pockets are found a revolver, and perhaps a pack 
of cards, which he carries, of course, just for amuse- 
ment. The next night George is out again. Curs- 
ing and the noise of a riot is heard at the tavern; 
now the report of a pistol. George is murdered or 
a murderer. The heart sickens at the picture. 

This is a true daguerreotype picture of many 
cases in our land. Truly, Solomon says: "A child 
left to himself bringeth his parents to shame." We 
may now ask. Who is to blame for the ruin of 
George? 0, affectionate parents, deal justly with 
your children ! A few stripes for the vile practices 
enumerated above, and hard work and low diet in 
childhood, will do more to honor your gray hairs 
than a thousand tears, prayers, and admonitions ex- 
pended upon your profligate son after he becomes 
hardened in sin. 

A wicked man said to me not long since, "Boys 
learn more vice at the bar-room in one night than 
they will pick up in a month on the streets in the 
day-time." This is true. 



BEFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 169 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Not claiming infallibility, yet having accom- 
plished nearly my three-score years, and having 
from my childhood been a close observer, I claim 
to be somewhat a judge of the moral feelings and 
practices of my fellow-men. Society has ever been 
composed of evil and good men. We live in a 
country of good and wholesome laws, and under a 
constitution guaranteeing to all the rights of life, 
liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. 
With the laws under which we live no very just 
complaint can be found, but their administration is 
very defective. This grows out of the misguided 
views and sentiments of society, and is the legit- 
imate result of misgovernment in our families. 
Often professing godliness ourselves, our children 
are trained up in the way they should not go. 
Look where you will in the community, the chil- 
dren are indulged in practices prejudicial to their 
moral health. 

"Just as the twig is bent the tree 's inclined." 

The pastimes, youthful games, the dress, and 
idleness of our children all engender vice. We 
can see nothing but beauty, smartness, and truth 
in our loved ones. Boys are men at twelve, and 
girls are women at eight, and both pests, if not 



170 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

nuisances, to society at eighteen. And worse still, 
children of the poor and of the rich must have their 
candies, sweetmeats, and a small amount of change 
daily to spend as they please. No wonder, then, 
that they take the road to ruin early, and "bring 
the parents' gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." 

When a child, I recollect one instance of a young 
man who was going to school to an aged teacher. 
For some supposed insult, the profligate youth pre- 
pared himself with his pocket full of rocks (in this 
day it would have been with a pistol or bowie-knife), 
and going to the school-house attacked and beat the 
old man, and left him half dead, weltering in his 
blood. My father expostulated with Sam's father 
on the conduct of his son. His only reply was, 
"Sam just wanted to bleed the old man; it was 
needful he should lose a little blood." About one 
week from this time a younger son came in haste to 
my father's house, exclaiming, "For God's sake run 
to our house; Sam is killing father." My father 
hastened, but when he arrived the conflict was over, 
and father and son were covered with gore, the efi"ect 
of sticks in each other's hands. I need hardly tell 
the end of Sam. He died a miserable and untimely 
death. Read the Bible, and you will there find that 
the curse of God came upon a pious man's house 
because "his sons committed sin, and he restrained 
them not." Let parents beware. 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 171 

But to return. The administration of justice is 
SO lax or tardy that men's hearts are set in them 
to do evil. For instance: A man commits murder, 
and deprives society of a valuable member, and a 
wife and children of the means of subsistence. The 
culprit is apprehended and locked up for a season ; 
trial after trial is attempted; but, through the man- 
agement and chicanery of lawyers, it is put off. At 
length the dead man is forgotten, and the murderer 
receives the sympathies of the whole community. A 
trial is now had, and he is released. Another is con- 
victed of selling spirituous liquors without a license, 
and he is fined for the offense. Immediately a peti- 
tion is signed by respectable names, and his fine is 
remitted. Why trouble the commonwealth and run 
her to a great cost with such solemn farces? 

Of course, nothing is here intended to apply to 
those who kill in self-defense. Let strict and im- 
partial justice be administered from the cradle up. 
Let parents strip their children of much of their 
jewelry and fine apparel; withhold candies, and give 
them instead wholesome bread and meat; empty 
their pockets of marbles, cards, and pistols. Let 
judges and under-officers faithfully apply the law. 
Let all endeavor to raise a high standard of moral 
rectitude. Then our country will smile and blossom 
as the rose. 



172 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

"There is an evil which I have seen under the sun." 

In our boasted happy land every officer, from the 
highest to the lowest, is elected by the people. This 
may be democratic, and in the main work good, but 
it must be acknowledged that the state of society 
is restless and in perpetual turmoil under its opera- 
tion. 

Go where you will — elections, elections — candi- 
dates, candidates — as numerous as the locusts of 
Egypt. Bribery, treating, and all the tricks of 
demagogues are brought to bear. There are three 
characters that are hated of God and good men — 
the gambler, the loafer, and the demagogue. No one 
should desire' or seek office but for the purpose of 
conserving the peace and exalting virtue. When 
Paul was permitted to speak to a wicked governor, 
"he reasoned of righteousness," because he per- 
ceived that bribes were in his hands. How many 
such as Felix are to be found in our land? The 
two former characters have vagrancy stamped upon 
them by law — they carry the mark of Cain upon 
their foreheads. The latter is a legalized gentle- 
man. An office is in the gift of the people, and he 
has as good a right to it as any man. He flatters 
with his lips; he fills a seat in Congress; votes on 
every side, especially with the strongest party. 0, 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 173 

how he loves "the dear people!" I once heard a 
member of Congress say " that he and his competi- 
tor expended enough of whisky in the race to float 
a seventy-four gun-boat out at the mouth of the 
river." Another told me that "he paid one dollar 
for every vote at a certain precinct." " shame, 
where is thy blush !" Many sit in high places whose 
god is the bottle. "They sit there to judge after 
the law, and command men to be smitten contrary 
to the law." 

Honest and conscientious men can rarely be in- 
duced to enter the arena in a scramble for the high- 
est offices. You say, this is good preaching, but 
show us the remedy. Well, then, let every voter 
put his hand and cast his vote against all tipplers, 
profane swearers, and those that are known to use 
bribes. Let the people speak out on the subject, 
and act as the State of South Carolina has more 
than once done in presidential canvasses. If no 
one worthy in your estimation offers, stay away 
from the polls, or proclaim when there that you 
prefer another citizen. "The wicked" are said to 
"flee when no man pursueth." Speak, then, and 
like Felix he will tremble. In youth I became 
acquainted with an infidel — a young man, as his 
friends said, of great promise. He would even 
curse the Most High. "With his blasphemies all 
ears were weary." Often, in our retirement, have 



174 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

I put my hand upon his shoulder in a familiar man- 
ner, and said : " Tommy, what do you now think of 
Christianity?" "0," said he, "if I possessed the 
world, I would give all for the peace I enjoyed when 
I was a Baptist preacher." Depend upon it, Burns 
was right when he said 

"The really hardened wicked, 
Who have no check but human law, 
Are to a few restricted." 

Let people and preachers talk on — let those who 
write for the press hold up vice in all its hideous- 
ness — by the help of God, I for one intend to 

"Lash the rascals naked through the world." 



CHAPTER XIX. 

"His 'prentice hand he tried on man. 
And then he made the lasses, 0!" 

The Scotch poet was a true lover of the sex; 
and, in order to do their form and virtues justice, 
he runs the imminent danger, in the above lines, of 
committing sacrilege. When I was a child, I would 
have indorsed the sentiment heartily. The form, 
the countenance, the voice of woman, were in my 
estimation more than angelic. My mother was 
pretty and truthful; her smile of approval was 
heaven; her frown of reproof was misery. There 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 175 

was but one creature that I admired before her— a 
blooming maid of sixteen. Only think of that. I 
was eight — Tempe was sixteen; yet I felt a passion 
burn and glow within my bosom that could not be 
more than equaled by that of the most enraptured 
swain. Tempe, by imprinting the warm kiss on my 
lips, and nestling me in her bosom, became 

"The circle where my passions moved, 
And center of my souL" 

When the tear started in her eye, the tenderest 
chord in my soul vibrated — when she departed for 
her home, "I mourned as the dove." I could not 
tell why. 

Let philosophers say what they will, love of the 
sex is inherent. God has so constituted us that we 
cleave first to mother, next to sisters, or those fair 
angels, according to our childish fancy, that caress 
and love us. 

woman! I would to God that our experience 
in riper years might realize in you all we so fondly 
cherished in early views of feminine character. You 
have the first place in our hearts when we are in- 
fants — the first pure emotions of love of which we 
are capable are directed toward you — you hold our 
destiny in your hands when we are in the cradle, and 
when we have escaped from that family prison, the 
direction of your eye and the touch of your hand 



176 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

lead us. Your love and smiles allure us on to for- 
tune and to fame. It has been said by the enrap- 
tured poet — 

"The world was sad; the garden was a wild; 
[■ And man, the hermit, sigh'd till woman smiled." 

And let woman cease to smile in conscious inno- 
cence and it will be a wilderness again. 

The domestic circle, the house of God, visits 
of friendship and mercy, are woman's appropriate 
spheres of action. Here she is lovely and beloved. 
But the stage, the opera, the ball-room, and the 
political arena all tarnish and take the crown of 
glory from her head. 

I was acquainted with a damsel once who was 
regarded as all that was lovely in [form, in feature, 
and in female grace. Her fortune was ample. I 
saw her walk the streets — toward her all eyes were 
directed. At the theater, the opera, and in the 
ball-room she was the particular star. Many loved 
her; one wooed and won her. But he realized the 
truth too late, that 

"'T is distance lends enchantment to the view." 

Happy would it have been for that man if he could 
have adopted the language of Solomon — " The heart 
of her husband doth safely trust in her." The fair 
one, by the commission of crime, led her husband 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 177 

to misery and ruin in his worldly business; and by 
avenging his wrongs he this day fills a murderer's 
grave. 



CHAPTEK XX. 

"That mercy I to others show, 
That mercy show to me." 

The above is part of a universal prayer. Man 
as well as beasts are included, and happy would it 
be for us if we could heartily adopt it. Some phi- 
losophers have held that man is created wholly a 
herbivorous animal, while anatomists and physiolo- 
gists have undertaken to show that bipeds, such as 
we are, have a nature suited to animal as well as 
vegetable aliment. Admitting the latter doctrine 
to be true, yet it must be confessed that there is 
much cruelty in the slaughtering of one race of 
animals for the subsistence of another. 

When Kentucky was a wilderness, with a dense 
undergrowth of cane and grape-vine, John Hunter 
was one of the first pioneers. He brought with 
him to the ^'bloody ground" only implements of 
husbandry. He lived on terms of peace with man 
and beast. One of his rambles through the forest 
brought him upon a huge stag, whose antlers were 
entangled in grape-vine and cane so that he could 
not extricate himself. John Euntcr released him; 
15 



178 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

and the stag, bounding off a few paces and then 
facing his deliverer, stood in astonishment, while 
the tender-hearted man thus addressed him : ^' My 
friend, take care and never let grape-vines ensnare 
you again; if you do you will never again meet 
with John Hunter. ^^ And because there are but few 
like John Hunter, the poet has sung, 

"Man's inliiimanity to man 
Makes countless millions mourn," 

I may add : Beasts that God has given us for our 
pleasure and use often become the cruel sport of 
the thoughtless and hard-hearted. 

Parents, teach your children to regard the rights 
of even the little sparrows, "' for not one of them 
falls to the ground without your heavenly Father's 
notice." How much are other animals better than 
they? Cruelty in a boy is a certain precursor, with 
me, of sin and crime in his riper years. I knew a 
boy once whose Sabbath employment was to gather 
wild fruits, rob birds' nests, and to catch and torture 
small animals. In one of his mischievous excur- 
sions, he ascended a tree in search of prey. When 
forty feet from the ground he missed his footing, 
and was precipitated to the earth. He was taken 
home to his parents, mangled and almost lifeless, 
and to this day he looks upon a withered and lame 
arm as the forfeit of one of his departures from the 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 179 

laws of mercy. ^^The way of the transgressor is 
hard." 

Let every family, if they can obtain it, put into 
the hands of their children the "History of the 
Family of Little Sparrows." 



CHAPTER XXL 

"Know thyself" is a wholesome admonition. But 
few of us look into the heart to discover the motives 
that prompt to action. Our moral and social feel- 
ings too often betray the ignorance and star-gazing 
curiosity of our minds. The prayer of nature's poet 
ought to mingle in all our ejaculatory devotions: 

"0, wad some power the giftie gie us 
To see ourselves as others see us ! 
It wad frae mony a blunder free us, 

And foolish notion ; 
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us, 

And e'en devotion!" 

Is man led by the dictates of common sense and 
true philosophy, or by the many thousand chimeras 
that " allure but to bewilder, and dazzle but to de- 
ceive?" Is he the student of nature, reading daily 
the laws which govern mind and matter, or a mere 
novice in the school where wisdom utters her voice 
in vain? Impossibilities to many are palpable truths, 
absurdities the most consistent and instructive les- 



180 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

sons. Reason is dethroned, and passion and pleas- 
ure take its place. Ko day but reproves his folly 
and proves his premise and conclusions false, yet he 
totters on, expecting the disappointments of to-day 
will turn to realizations on to-morrow. 0, bewil- 
dered and self-deceived man, turn your eye within ; 
let experience direct your thoughts, your hopes, 
your fears! To-morrow will be as to-day. If the 
ashes of pleasure, debauch, and misspent time em- 
bitter the cup of life now, be assured that non- 
conformity to the immutable laws of cause and 
effect will ever punish and distract. 

Take a few examples not the worst. Here is a 
fast young man, who has inherited a few thousand 
dollars, a good constitution, and has received the 
rudiments of a liberal education. He starts out in 
the world in pursuit of happiness. He imagines 
that his money, his vigorous health, and his literary 
attainments will insure his admission into society. 
The less fortunate are looked upon by him as mis- 
erable wretches. A few dollars for fine clothes, an 
occasional outlay for jewelry, etc., are small matters; 
health will always last; a college course is a finished 
education — unmindful that "waste makes want," 
that fever selects the strong as its first victims, and 
that books neglected dwindle the scholar to a liter- 
ary pigmy. 

Another is a devotee of pleasure, whatever may 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 181 

be his means, his health, or his education. He 
drinks at every fountain, risks upon every chance, 
and imprudently enters in ^' where angels bashful 
look." Too rich to ever know want, his health in- 
sured by the doctor, or the thousand elixirs, cathol- 
icons, and panaceas vended by the apothecary. His 
education is limited, but will "grow with his growth 
and strengthen with his strength." He has never 
learned that 

"Pleasures are like poppies spread — 
You seize the flower, its blood is shed; 
Or like the snow-fall in the river — 
A moment white, then melts forever." 

Nor has the poor deluded young man learned that 
other good lesson — 

"When I (death) kill one a fair strae-death, 
By loss o' blood or want o' breath, 
This night, I 'm free to take my aith, 

That hornbook's (doctor's) skill 
Has clad a score i' their last daith 

By drap an' pill." 

Thus the prodigal and lover of pleasure continues 
his search for happiness of mind and ease of body, 
until suddenly he awakes to see the truth, that 

"At thirty, man suspects himself a fool; 
Kitiows it at forty, and reforms his plan; 
At fifty, chides his infamous delay, , 
Pushes his prudent purpose to resolve; 
In all the magnanimity of thought 
Resolves, and re-resolves, then dies the same." 



182 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN, 

CHAPTER XXII. 

"Rise early, and take exercise in plenty; 
But always take it with your stomach empty." 

One of the virtues of our sires was early rising. 
The freshness of the morning air, the beauties of 
the new-born day, the melody of heaven's songsters, 
the pearly dews, all led their thoughts and devotions 
through nature "up to nature's God." No wonder 
that their bodies and minds were healthy and strong. 
Examining their writings, we see in them a strength 
and sublimity unequaled by the moderns. Show us 
argument and diction like that of Hamilton and 
Madison in their " Federalist." Tell us where we 
can find the genius and poetic fancy of an Irving, 
or the staid rhetoric and sound argument in debate 
of a Webster, or a purer forensic style than that 
of a Wirt or a Calhoun. These rare specimens of 
human greatness were all early risers. 

"The lamp of genius, tho' by nature lit, 
If not protected, pruned, and fed with care, 
Soon dies, or runs to waste with fitful glare." 

And what so well calculated to becloud and extin- 
guish the lamp of genius as the odious practice of 
using the night for debauch and the day for sleep. 
Notice the instincts of birds and beasts, and they 
will teach you. The little lamb prevents the day 
with its gambols, the lark soars up to meet the 



REFLECTIONS OV AN. OLD MAN. 183 

rising sun, ten thousand little songsters fill the air 
with their morning orisons: but where do we find 
the sluggard or devotee of pleasure? Rolling upon 
his bed of down, yawning and stretching, crying, 

"A little more sleep, a little more slumber." 

0, who can describe the wretchedness of such a 
one ! Rather than live his life let me be a galley- 
slave, for then the muscles and bones would receive 
strength, and the mind and the body would be in 
unison with nature's law — activity. Arm-chairs, 
divans, and sofas dwindle the body, benumb the 
mind, and make of those who indulge them drones 
in the hive of life. Passing by his door, you 

"Heard the everlasting yawn confess 
Tlie pains and penalties of idleness." 

He is always talking of medical springs, consulting 
the doctor, searching the journals for expectorants, 
cough-drops, a pain-killer, or a magic ointment; the 
head aches, the stomach is out of fix, and the whole 
man — mind and body — is unstrung. ^' 0, wretched 
man that I am !'•' What a picture ! 

I once traveled to Louisville, and lodged all night 
with a good specimen of an old Virginia landlord — 
a hearty reception, good eating, good liquors, and 
clean beds. I tarried till nine in the morning. Just 
as I was about to leave, a tall, lank, beardless boy 
of about eighteen entered the family-room, and the 



184 HEFLECTIONB OF AN OLD MAN. 

kind-liearted mother said: ''This is my son. How 
do you feel this morning? You have overslept 
yourself." "I slept till I was ready to get up," 
was the gruff reply. Twelve months passed, and 
1 was on my way to Louisville again. I asked after 
the old landlord and his good wife. The answer was, 
that they had both passed away and left the son a 
fine estate, but he was going through it fast, and 
wallowing about the streets like the swine. 

parents! teach your children economy and in- 
dustry; while they are under your care make them 
"rise with the lark and lie down with the lamb;" 
and especially teach them to keep away from the 
bar-room, and every haunt of vice. Then may you 
expect a smooth passage to the grave; and, when 
you are gone, your sons and your daughters will 
"come to honor, though you know it not." 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

"I was once young, and now I am old, yet have I never seen 
the righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread." 

This is the general rule. Many besides David 
have made the same observation. The secret of 
rearing good children, and consequently filling the 
country with useful and happy citizens, does not lie 
very deep. The most stupid parent ought to dis- 
cover it and act upon it. Come, let us reason upon 
the subject. 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 185 

Father or mother, or both, are the subjects of 
many ill tempers and vindictive feelings. These 
they take no pains to conceal. The children are 
taught to hate those their parents hate, although 
the dislike may have been occasioned by the gain 
or loss of a few dollars, or a wry word spoken by 
a neighbor in an unguarded moment. Hence, family 
feuds, and often destruction of life and property. 
I always admire a sensitive, high-toned lady or 
gentleman, but I most seriously doubt whether the 
individual who is ever ready to embroil a neighbor- 
hood, and call in his children to avenge the slightest 
wrong, ever had much character to lose. The chil- 
dren grow up and imitate their parents. Deep de- 
generacy mark their footsteps. 

"Destruction and misery are in their way; 
Their feet are swift to shed blood." 

Take another example. We see a father who sets 
out in the world to get wealth. A fine house, money, 
and servants — these are his idols. What he has to 
sell he praises; what he wishes to buy he under- 
rates until he gets it into possession. Perhaps, after 
all, he does not succeed. Then commences a volley 
of abuse against bad luck, insolvent debtors, bad 
times, etc. Another is more fortunate — let me 
rather say, unfortunate. He prospers like King 
Midas — whatever he touches turns to gold. He 
16 



186 EEFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

soon imagines that wealth has purified his blood; 
aristocratic feelings are engendered; the family are 
" clothed in purple and fine linen, and fare sumptu- 
ously every day." A merchant in one of our large 
cities ordered his clerks to give annually to his 
hopeful — I would rather say vagabond — son five 
hundred dollars as pocket-money. I wonder whether 
the hope of the family has reached the penitentiary, 
or is he a refugee from justice ? 

The unsuccessful father covers up property by 
mortgage, deed of trust, or one of the many artifices 
of a broken man. This is all done with the knowl- 
edge and in the presence of his children, and they 
are often called upon to cover and hide for him. 
No wonder, then, that the children are filled with 
duplicity, and become mean-spirited. 

The man of gold — the aristocrat that has descended 
from a serf — puffs, struts, and shows ofi" in a palace ; 
has servants, fine carriage, fast horses, and a train 
of courtiers. The family breakfast at nine, dine 
at four, sup at ten ; or, it may be, like my friend 
South, " eat and drink two or three days, then sleep 
two or three days." Company come in at ten, and 
retire at three or four, A. M. Cachectic diseases 
are introduced into the family. Then medical waters 
are sought — "drap and pill" finish the work — and 
you have before you a sturdy old oak, and the large 
and thrifty ivy twining it, while under its shade 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 187 

grow or dwindle pale, sickly shoots, scarcely able to 
sustain the gentlest breeze. If mind or matter 
cQuld be improved by such a process, then parents 
might be pardoned for such a course, but both are 
irreparably injured. 

A gentleman — once a poor mechanic, then rich by 
his trade — said to me : " I am determined my chil- 
dren shall never labor as hard for a living as I have 
done." I faithfully answered : " That is a determina- 
tion that your children shall never be as respectable, 
wealthy, or happy as you are." So it has resulted, 
at least with the male portion of the family. 

The remedy for all these evils: The parent has 
nothing to do but put the yoke on early; make 
every one pull that can move a pound; be not 
afraid of soiled hands, well-developed chests and 
limbs, brown complexions, and ruddy cheeks. The 
family is ready then for poverty or riches — yea, for 
disease itself. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

"When time, which steals our years away, 
Shall steal our pleasures, too, 
The memory of the past will stay, 
And half our joy renew." 

I AM older than the first canal in America. I am 
older than the first railroad in the world. I am 
older than the first steamboat. I am older than 



188 REFLECTIONS OP AN OLD MAN. 

any turnpike. I am older than St. Louis, Cincin- 
nati, or Louisville, as cities. I am older than the 
cotton-gin, the card-making machine, the speeder in 
cotton-spinning, the daguerrean art, photography, 
telegraph wires, and balloon ascensions : and yet I 
have not attained to three-score years and ten. I 
have seen much, enjoyed much, suffered much, and 
hoped much; but at no time have I been exalted 
above measure, nor have I ever yielded to despair. 

"For me, I hold no commerce with despair." 

My country and my country's friends have the 
warmest place in my heart. My country's pros- 
perity has been and shall continue to be my polar 
star. No day but brings a deep conviction to the 
mind that more needs to be done for the improve- 
ment of our moral and physical condition as a 
people than as yet has been attempted or accom- 
plished. God has endowed us with capacious minds, 
given us large resources, and says, ^' Occupy till I 
come." 

Now, the reflection naturally arises, who are 
benefactors of their species? We are all perhaps 
'' unprofitable servants ;" but certainly the following 
classes of our fellow-men — idlers. Sabbath-breakers, 
swearers, brawlers, croakers, cheats, liars, thieves, 
murderers, gamblers, drunkards, house-burners, and 
assassins — are an incubus, weighing down the en- 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 189 

ergies and hindering the advancement of society. 
Happy would it be for us if such could be reformed 
or cast out of the hive as moths that hinder the 
working and* destroy the sweetness of life. Let 
each individual address himself to the task of m- 
provement and progress. 

"Attempt the end, and never stand in doubt; 
Nothing 's so hard but search will find it out." 

It is true, more is yet to be learned than our phi- 
losophy teaches or has dreamed of, and more evil 
passions in man are to be subdued than those al- 
ready under wholesome restraint; but both may be 
accomplished if we are only true to our high destiny. 
Work with a willing mind, and rightly divide between 
vice and virtue — the usful and the worthless. 

"To patient faith the prize is sure; 
And all that to the end endure 
The cross, shall wear the crown." 



CHAPTEE XXV. 

"A soul without reflection, like a pile 
Without inhabitant, to ruin runs." 

The past, the present, and the future are big with 
interest to the contemplative mind. The past we 
remember with regret or vnth pleasure ; the present 
we suffer or enjoy; the future we hope for or dread. 



I 



190 REFLECTIONS OP AN OLD MAN. 

The old among iis look backward seventy years, and 
see the mighty changes wrought by time and the 
course of human skill and enterprise. Arts, science, 
and commerce have been rapid and steady in their 
onward march, until the man of eighty seems to 
enjoy a "new heaven and a new earth." He sees 
human wants better provided for, and human rights 
better regarded and more respected than they were 
in by-gone days. 

If we wish to till the soil or secure the rich 
harvest, numberless improvements and labor-saving 
machines are at hand. If we desire to travel for 
pleasure or profit, or convey our agricultural prod- 
ucts to market, steam by land and sea almost 
annihilate distance. Are w^e anxious to send mes- 
sages of love and current news with the speed of 
lightning, telegraph wires are ready to perform the 
service. If we wish to sit quietly at home and read 
the great thoughts of great men, the steam press 
throws us off thousands of news-sheets and readable 
books per hour. 

"Turn to the press — its teeming sheets survey, 
Big with the wonders of each passing day: 
Births, deaths, and weddings; forgeries, fires, and wrecks; 
Harangues and hail-stones; broils and broken necks." 

Cotton, wool, and flax are carded, spun, and woven 
by machiner}^; pants, coats, etc., are made by ma- 
chinery. The_ human face divine is imprinted on a 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 191 

card or plate of metal by the rays of the light. 
Aeronauts voyage through the air. The unfortunate 
are furnished with artificial legs, arms, eyes, and 
noses. The blind are restored to sight. The dumb 
are made to speak. Many inveterate diseases are 
brought under complete control by medical science. 
Human life has been prolonged. We light our 
streets and houses by means of gas. 

Who, then, will not say this is an important era 
in human affairs? The future who can fathom? 
We cast the eye forward and behold in the close of 
the present century one hundred millions of free 
and happy people occupying the places of the pres- 
ent inhabitants; arts and science greatly improved; 
the surface of the earth beautified; and the bowels 
of the earth explored to great depths, whence w^ill 
be drawn untold mineral wealth. What a glorious 
future awaits us ! 

"Let us then be up and doing, 
With a heart for every fate; 
Still achieving — still pursuing — 
Learn to labor and to wait!" 



192 REFLECTIONS OF .AJN' OLD MAX. 

CKAFTER XXYI. 

Croakers. 

Some ivriter has said: "All the world is a frog- 
pond — croak — croak — croak I"' This is true of am- 
phibious creatures, and also of bipeds that crawl 
upon the land. I have listened for fifty years and 
have heard but little besides croak — croak— croak I 

The world is made wrong. God deals hard with 
his creatures. Disease and death sweep millions 
from the earth because of Adam's sin. He appoints 
us to heaven or hell for his own good pleasure. The 
good suffer as well as the bad. The wicked are at 
ease, while the virtuous are afflicted. Things are 
woefully out of joint. The seasons are bad — it is 
too cold or too hot — it rains too much, or there is 
a miserable drought. The wind blows too hard. 
There is not enough of sunshine. The days are 
too short. The nights are miserably long. It is a 
very long summer. Winter will never end. Spring 
will never come. Crops will be short — the seed will 
all rot in the ground — the fly. the worm, and the ant 
will destroy every thing. The price of grain is too 
low. There is not a good or honest man in the land. 
Men are ^rowins worse everv dav. Office-holders 
are corrupt. Politicians are not to be trusted. y>'e 
have no law. The Constitution is trampled upon. 
Clergymen are rascals. Physicians keep a patient 



BKFLECTI055 OF a:? OLD MA5. 19-3 

sick to make a long bilL Lawyers are all liars. 
"Women dre=s too fine. Bots are too cmart. Girls 
set out too soon. The miller steals half the grain- 
The wool-carder steals the wooL All classes of so- 
ciety impose upon us. The expenses of liring are 
enormous. I shall go distracted- 0! what ^udl I 
do ■? Erery body hates me. I have lost confidence 
in mankind- I wish I was dead- Croak — croak — 
croak ! 

So do all your neighbors wish it. unless you can 
submit to the proridence of God- exercise a little 
more philosophy, and accord to others the good 
character and honesty you claim for yourself- Cease 
your croaking, and make the best of eyerj proii- 
dence. and then it may be said of you : 

-The reesBsat of his dijs te sifelj j-^r^^ 
yoT fonnd liej l^jf^d to slow, nor ^ir too last: 
He Bisde iiis wist^s wiik Ms stAse c*aiplj — 
JoTTol lo lixe. res eoj afraid to dier" 



CKAPTEK XXVIL 

-Tfce ekildbr^ ef tie world are wif^cr :r .l-rir 
Ike cklMrea imT Iigii-"~ 

It is very remxrkaUe dnt, wliile the loyal scarcely 
ever notice in a suitable manner the Union cSc-ers 
a^i s:li:rrs who sared the coantTT. the friends of 
traitors emblazon the deeds and heroism of their 



194 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

leaders in every possible way. Eulogiums are pro- 
nounced; photographs are hung up in prominent 
places; books of the flattering kind are printed and 
extensively circulated; and newspapers printed to 
bemoan the ^'lost cause." Union men and the Union 
press look on and are silent, never uttering a rebuke 
to treason and foul traitors. Notwithstanding all 
this, the people would have us believe they are 
intensely loyal lovers of the government and the 
constitution. The truth is, all that has been done 
in honor of the heroic dead and living of the Union 
army has been done by the government and its 
hated rulers. The pay of the soldiers, the pension- 
list, the votes of thanks to the rank and file, have 
all been accorded by men who bear the reproach of 
radicals, Jacobins, the rump Congress, etc. Such 
epithets and names may be odious now with peace 
men and political weather-cocks, but the time is not 
far ahead when such men as they now reproach 
will take their place among the true lovers of their 
country. 

A glorious future awaits our country when a 
hundred millions of people shall extend from the 
Atlantic on the east to the Pacific on the west, and 
from the frozen lakes at the north to the isthmus 
of the south, all prospering under free institutions. 
Then Canada will be embraced ; Cuba will be ours ; 
Mexico will be annexed ; British America, beyond 



REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 195 

the Rocky Mountains, will throw herself at our feet 
and claim our protection. The enlightened states- 
man and philanthropist may say: "Verily I say to 
my countrymen, this generation shall not pass away 
till all these things shall be fulfilled." 

In that day, the names of Lincoln, Grant, Sher- 
man, Sheridan, and Thomas will be embalmed in 
every heart, and their deeds become the theme of 
song, and fill the brightest page in their country's 
history. Then will the true political millennium of 
the world dawn upon us — kings will be dethroned, 
the isles of the sea will clap their hands for joy, 
and the nations of the earth become one common 
brotherhood. Every philanthropist and patriot joins 
in the prayer — " Hasten the time, Lord !" Then 
shall we sing, "If I forget thee, or cease to love 
thee, my country, let my right hand forget its 
cunning — let my tongue cleave to the roof of my 
mouth !" 

" Our bosoms with rapture beat high at thy name; 
Thy health is our transport, our triumph thy fame! 
Like our sires, with our swords we '11 support thy renown — 
What they bought with their blood, we '11 defend with our 
own." 



196 RETLECIIOXS OF A^ OLD MA5. 

CHAPTEK XXVIIL 

Tae rigtiL to an opinion. 

TTe often hear it asserted that " every man has a 
right to his own opinion." It depends entirely on 
what his opinion is. If it is that honesty and truth 
should be upheM and encouraged; that industry 
should meet a rich reward; that yice should be 
discountenanced and punished; that good govern- 
ment should be countenanced and upheld; that the 
laws should be enforced ; that men should be secured 
in " life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ;" that 
all should be guaranteed a free worship; that the 
people are the true fountain of governmental power ; 
that all men naturally are free and equal ; that " God 
made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell 
on all the earth" — then no man can question his 
right. In this land, these are legal rights and 
opinions. They are also indefeasible rights, and 
should be defended by society. 

But, on the other hand, if a man's opinion is that 
honesty and truth are bad policy; that industry is 
degrading, and idleness and lounging are reputable ; 
that vice is more honorable than virtue; that all 
governments are oppressive; that the laws are too 
severe, and ought not to be enforced; that white 
men alone should be secured in the possession of 
''"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;" that 



izrizmo5= or A5 ii x^v. 197 

all 5_ la free -^.z-is- ^z:.-. 

n^roes and abc^hiOTiisi^ : tKai &r 
the people, are liie tme fosntam c i _ 

power, and as sadli dbosld rale: xh&: 

not nalsrally free and eq[iial : liai - i : 

mate of :zr J nalioiif :: nea'^ — sme «f 

disT<e'__ ^ : niay le -__._- _ie idBotic 

Ta^^kiies : l-ni by far xhe greai-er pan cf ^k^ o^n- 
1-5 of -wickei neans. ^^^ting m 



------ ---« 

: eated as 

Ei^Li to an opinic'ii ! If it i? a gc»od opmion ttoii 
have a ligiii !-:♦ it- bm if ii is a l«ad one xom haxe 

nil, Exerr man's indrriiiial ligtis miisi: Tield for 
ihe good of xhe vLole, else xbere is an end of s'ot- 

emiLeiii- 



CHAirzi: xx:x 



'.•li Man** iiare 



1^ - il V. I Laxe -DaZif^d i; ii 



108 REFLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN. 

or untruth in the sentiments uttered, whether I at- 
tempted to depict the past or the future. For forty 
years past I have labored to lead my fellow-men in 
"the good and the right" way by precept and ex- 
ample. If I have erred, as I have no doubt fre- 
quently done, it has not been an error of the heart, 
but from an ignorance of the precise meaning of 
the w^ords uttered or the action performed. 

Being now superannuated in body, but retaining 
a vigorous mind for one of my age, I may here- 
after continue my labors in instruction and reproof, 
hoping that I may be able to add a few grains to 
the scale of truth and virtue. When my work is 
done, I can cheerfully resign all to the Giver. Till 
then I am a soldier in the grand army for equal 
rights, universal freedom, good government, whole- 
some laws, punishment of the wicked, a free worship, 
strict economy, temperance, universal education, and 
piety. 

''Virtue 
Stands like the sun, and all which roll around 
Drink life and light and glory from her feet." 

I ask no discharge from the war until my tongue 
and hand are palsied, and my mind shall cease to 
dictate thought, and then, 

"Like one who draws the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams," 

I hope to pass from earth. 



BIOGRAPHIES 



UNCLE BEN. DURHAM. 

What Kentucky Methodist does not know the 
name and recollect the pious labors of Uncle Ben. 
Durham, a name dear to thousands? 

He was born in the State of Virginia, April 3, 
1778, of pious parents. Of his childhood and early 
education but little is known. He joined the Meth- 
odist Church when she was feeble in this section of 
Kentucky, and with many a by-word and a re- 
proach. From the time of his conversion until his 
death, in 1847, though a lay member, he was a 
standard-bearer in Israel. Being united in early 
life with a lady of deep piety, a true helpmate for 
him, it was not strange that his soul should be led 
out in strong desires that all, by embracing a "re- 
ligion in earnest," might realize the domestic peace 
and happiness he possessed at home. He adopted 
the doctrine of our Discipline, that " we are not to 
shun duty because our hearts do not feel free to it." 
Hence, like his Master, "he went about doing good." 
In prayers, in fastings, in labors, and in deeds of 



200 BIOGRAPHIES. 

benevolence, he was more abundant than any of his 
hiy brethren. Often he and his companion took the 
circuit with the new preacher, and traveled with him 
from one appointment to another to introduce him, 
and that he might not miss the road. At every 
house their coming was welcomed by the pious, and 
indeed by all, with the deepest heart-felt gratula- 
tions. The reader will not be astonished at this 
when told that their prayers and songs were life and 
spirit as well in the private circle as in the church 
of God. The two voices composed a choir worthy 
of any church. For this reason. Uncle Ben. and 
Aunt Peggy became familiar names in every family. 
Preachers on the circuit started into their field of 
labor from Ben. Durham's; and, when worn down 
with fatigue, after having performed a round of two 
hundred and fifty miles, and preached as many ser- 
mons as there are days in the month, returned to 
Ben. Durham's. 

An incident in their lives will illustrate their 
piety, and their abiding faith in the truth of the 
promise that ''all things work together for good 
to them that love God." In 1827 they had, by 
diligence in business, accumulated a store of the 
good things of this life: their barn full; their house 
supplied with domestic wares of every description, 
all the latter the work of Dorcas's hands — blankets, 
counterpanes, sheets, gentlemen's and ladies' home- 



UNCLE BEN. DURHAM. 201 

spun, in such profusion as was to be found in no 
other house. But in an evil hour fire was commu- 
nicated by accident to their dwelling, and the labors 
of many years was consumed — the family, in their 
night-clothes, barely escaping the flames. Sister 
Durham, in after life, was frequently heard to tell 
that, in view of the devourer, and sitting under the 
canopy of heaven in the chilly night, the labor of 
her early life entirely swept away, she said in her 
heart, "Shall we receive good and not evil at the 
hand of the Lord ?" Brother Durham went the next 
Sabbath after the burning to attend class in a town 
seven or eight miles from home, and while address- 
ing his brethren he said : " When I saw my house 
and furniture in ruins, the Lord poured me out a 
blessing that there was not room to contain." 

The home for the preachers was soon rebuilt, and 
dedicated to God and the church by preaching and 
frequent prayer-meetings, for as yet there was no 
meeting-house in the neighborhood. While the old 
house was standing, Bishop George, Bishop McKen- 
dree, and Bishop Roberts were often fed and lodged 
there; and H. B. Bascom (who once traveled the 
circuit), Valentine Cook, H. H. Kavanaugh, Wm. 
Adams, and a host of others of less note, were in 
the constant habit of receiving his hospitalities when 
going to and returning from their respective fields 
of labor. 

17 



202 BIOGRAPHIES. 

In the year 1825, camp-meetings were commenced 
on Ben. Durham's farm. He was at home every- 
where in the church, but Providence had peculiarly 
stamped him for a camp-meeting general. His stal- 
wart frame, his long, sinewy arms, his capacious 
mouth, and open soul set him apart as a leader on 
such occasions. By universal consent he was com- 
mander-in-chief. He directed how the ground should 
be chosen, where the attack should commence, what 
officers should command the front and rear, and 
what corps should constitute a reserve. The result 
always proved his consummate skill. His house, 
not far distant, was used as a refuge for the sick 
(in body) and the wounded (in spirit). On one oc- 
casion, after a long battle of more than a week, with 
apparent slight success, he said : ^' I am not yet sat- 
isfied — I am not yet conquered — my neighbors are 
out of the ark of safety. I will commence the at- 
tack once more, and call on the name of the Lord." 
He made the announcement that the meeting would 
open again in one week from that time, telling the 
people around him — "My store of provisions is not 
yet exhausted, and my soul is enlarged." At the 
time appointed the meeting commenced — every one 
of the old campers was on the ground, and new re- 
cruits came in. Rev. J. N. Maffit preached. It was 
a blessed season to many souls. Many that are in 
glory now, and still more that remain below, date 



UNCLE BEN. DURHAM. 203 

their conviction and conversion from that period. 
In my long acquaintance with Brother Durham, I 
do not recollect ever to have seen him so happy as 
he was at that meeting. A number of his neighbors 
for whom he had long prayed were converted and 
joined the church. 

In his zeal for the salvation of souls, he not only 
visited and talked to sinners about home, but he 
also traveled hundreds of miles to camp-meetings 
and conferences to assist and help the ministry; 
and, with but one or two exceptions, he was never 
known to receive the preachers sent on the circuit 
in any other way than with open arms. 

In 1828, he had a friend that showed signs of 
penitence. He appointed a prayer-meeting at his 
own house, with a direct reference to this gentle- 
man's spiritual condition; went a considerable dis- 
tance and invited three special brethren to attend. 
Said he: "If I can only see that neighbor (Carter 
Tadlock) converted, 0, how my soul will exult!" 
The brethren attended; the penitent was there, and 
joined the church that night, but was not converted 
until some months afterward. This affair resulted in 
the conversion of the gentleman's wife and mother- 
in-law, and many of their servants, all of them 
worthy members of the church. 

His Christian philanthropy was unbounded. He 
was "no respecter of persons." The black as well 



204 BIOGRAPHIES. 

as the white race was cared for by him. As an 
evidence of this fact, he collected and became the 
leader of one of the largest and best colored classes 
then in Kentucky. As an humble tribute of their 
gratitude, a few years before his death, at a mis- 
sionary meeting among the whites, a colored brother 
proposed Ben. Durham as a life-member of the so- 
ciety. Instantly, twenty dollars was paid in by the 
colored class. His great sacrifices of time, and lib- 
erality to the church, were acknowledged by all. 
But how he prospered in worldly store was made 
a mystery by many. The whole is solved thus : 

1. He lived free of the waste of slave-labor. 
2. He prayed daily for the blessing of heaven upon 
his humble efforts. 3. He could boast a prudent 
wife, and good and obedient children. Hence, his 
granaries were full, and his table covered with plenty. 
It may be safely said that no stranger, much less a 
member of any church, ever went hungry from his 
door. They always received, to nourish the inner 
man, just such light-biscuits, butter, fried pies, fried 
chickens, and ham as but few could prepare. 

While Brother Durham was regarded by some as 
a sectarian, he was catholic in spirit, as is clearly 
evinced by the fact that members of the different 
sects, when upon a death-bed, sought and re- 
ceived the consolations of his pious songs and 
prayers. He was a firm believer in the Methodist 



UNCLE BEN. DURHAM. 205 

doctrines and usages, and like an honest man ex- 
pressed his preference for the church of his choice. 
This by many was called sectarianism. One thing 
may be gathered from his whole life — the zealous, 
warm-hearted Christian, no matter to what branch 
of the church he belonged, always met a cordial re- 
ception from him. 

Candor compels the admission that the last days 
of Brother Durham were somewhat embittered by 
the treatment he received from brethren who he 
thought should have regarded him as a benefactor. 
These wrongs, as he conceived them to be, together 
with an intractable disease (dyspepsia), brought a 
shade of gloom over a sunny life. However, he did 
not forsake the house of God. His health steadily 
failed, and it was thought by his friends that his 
mind was seriously impaired. He lingered in bodily 
sufferings for many months, walking out often upon 
his farm. On the 12th of June, 1847, returning 
from one of his usual walks, his companion saw him 
tottering to his bed. She assisted him to reach it, 
and in a few moments his spirit took its flight to its 
final home. 

His children — five sons and five daughters — have 
all been united with the church, and have not in a 
single instance departed from the faith of their pious 
parents. Judge the tree by its fruit, and but few 
better men have lived than Uncle Ben. Durham. 



206 BIOGRAPHIES. 

LOW SUTFIELD. 

Providence has ever selected his own officers. 
After a long and dreary night of papal supremacy, 
ignorance, and superstition, a Luther was found, 
whose indomitable courage and love of truth led 
him to throw off the shackles that bound down the 
spirit and dwarfed the souls of God's true wor- 
shipers. From the first dawn of the Reformation 
until the present time, God's children have met with 
persecutions and severe trials. The Wesley s met 
them ; Whitefield had his name cast out as evil by 
the " established church." God seems to have or- 
dered that all w^ho reach the promised land shall 
pass first through the wilderness. 

The individual whose name stands at the head of 
this article was gifted by nature with a contour of 
body and qualities of mind that placed him above 
mediocrity. He was six feet two inches in height; 
straight, though rather delicate in body; black hair; 
large, full black eyes; a capacious mouth. When 
excited, or when he became happy, my childish 
fancy always imagined that I could look down into 
the depths of his generous soul. 

Such is a description of the man whom Provi- 
dence raised up to be a standard-bearer in Israel. 
He joined the Methodist Church when young; mar- 
ried an excellent lady — Miss Hamilton — in Scott 



LOW SUTFIELD. 207 

County, Kentucky. Their house immediately be- 
came the church for public worship twice a month. 
At that period (1816; the denomination called New 
Lights, Hadonites, Stoneites, etc., were carrying the 
minds of the people captive by their dogmas. Sut- 
field placed himself at the head of the opposition. 
He called to his aid that son of thunder, Henry 
McDaniel, and the philosophic and deep divine, 
Wm. Stribling, and the plain and pointed Dyke. 
Ali these, and many more, began to preach the doc- 
trines of the trinity — salvation by grace throucrh 
faith. The errorists began to give ground, the old 
soldiers advanced, and soon a nucleus was formed 
for one of the most prosperous Methodist churches 
at that day in the country. The Lord added to 
their number at every appointment. 

Now began a systematic effort by errorists and 
the wicked to slander down a people whose pros- 
perity was evident. And whiit I write this, I con- 
fess with shame that I learned, though but a youth, 
to persecute the saints. Sutfield was the mark for 
every envenomed arrow shot at true Christianity. 

The first charge was that he made too much ado 
about his Christianity. 

Secondly, he prayed in his family, and shouted 
during family worship and in the congregation, 
greatly to the annoyance of decent people. 

Thirdly, that he treated his enemies with kind- 



208 BIOGRAPHIES- 

ness, wliich he could never do if he were not a 
hypocrite. 

Fourthly, he was injuring society by taking too 
much notice of the poor and indigent, feeding them 
at his table on the days of circuit-preaching. 

It was reported by his persecutors that in his 
family devotions he had often been heard to pray 
for the prosperity of his flocks and crops; that it 
might not rain when he was cutting his harvest. 
Many a wicked youth was encouraged by his parents 
to mock his prayers and songs. His wife was not 
spared by his persecutors. He had two interesting 
daughters, and efl'orts Avere made to poison their 
minds, and lead them to contemn the religion of 
their parents. All these things did not seem to 
move him. 

He had circuit-preaching at his house twice a 
month; was class-leader at four or five appointments 
round the circuit. He was a regular camper at 
Griffin's meeting-house, in Bourbon County; went 
from neighborhood to neighborhood to hold prayer- 
meetings. If I recollect aright, he had nine daugh- 
ters and one son — the youngest. 

Here was a problem for the wise to solve: How 
could he begin the world poor, and labor under such 
disadvantages, and still prosper in worldly store? 
I tell the fact; let those who can give us the solu- 
tion. 



LOW SUTFIELD. 209 

About the year 1824 I made a visit to this good 

man and his happy family. All his daughters (two 

of them married) happened to be at home. They 

were called into the parlor — the eldest placed on the 

left, then in order of age to the youngest (some of 

them recently converted, others long in the church, 

the remaining two seekers of salvation), the father 

and mother and myself in front. An appropriate 

song — 

"And are we yet alive, 
And see each other's face?"' — 

was followed by a prayer, at the end of which the 
voice of weeping could not be distinguished from the 
voice of praise. This continued perhaps an hour. 
We were all preachers ; Ave were all exhorters. 

I dare not close this narrative without giving one 
incident in the life of Brother Low Sutfield. In 
1815, what was denominated the cold plague vis- 
ited Scott County. Many heads of families w^ere 
carried off by it ; among the number was my father. 
When he was upon a dying bed, Sutfield, although 
he knew he had been persecuted by the whole 
family, came in with ^vords of consolation and 
prayers. And after six of us (boys) and five girls 
were left orphans and dependent, he proposed, as 
his family were girls, to exchange work with us. 
He would sow our grain and perform the heavy 
labor on the farm for our assistance in lighter work. 

18 



210 BIOCRAnilES. 

If I am a converted man — if I liavc n strono- bias 
toward Methodism — if I finally get to heaven — it 
"will then be known that all Avas, under God, attrib- 
utable to the piety and Christian charity of Low 
Sutfield. 



CARTER TADLOCK. 

In the sketch given of "Uncle Ben. Durham," 
reference is made incidentally to the above indi- 
vidual. But little is known by the writer of his 
early history until the year 1828. He was a neg- 
lecter of salvation and a lover of pleasure. The 
strong tendencies of his nature were toward infi- 
delity. Blessed is that man whose lot is among 
the pious. His proclivities, if he had any whatever, 
were in favor of the Baptist Church. However, 
his open-heartedness and zeal in every cause he 
espoused fitted him for an advocate of a free salva- 
tion. 

About the year 1828 he became deeply penitent. 
The great concern manifested for him by his neigh- 
bors showed clearly his importance to society. For 
his conversion, unceasing prayer was made by the 
church. For many weeks after joining the church 
he went from place to place, and from house to 
house, inquiring, "What must I do?" He gave up 
every other concern for the salvation of his soul. 



CARTER TAI>LOCK. 211 

In Ilarrodsburg, at a Sabbath appointment, Lis 
guilt was removed, and he could sav : " Though the 
Lord was angrv with me, his anger is tnmed awav, 
and he now comforts me/"' Just before he left the 
house he was exercised in a peculiar manner. He 
was seized with what has been called the "laucrhincr 
exercise.'*' He went into the streets, hailing all he 
met, and endeavoring to tell them how good the 
Lord was. As is alwajs the case, many mocked; 
others said, " Go thy way for this time.*' Weeks, 
months, and years passed, but Brother Tadlock con- 
tinued to laugh whenever he was in class or at 
church. His life proved the work was genuine. 
He became a priest in his family and among his 
servants. The consequence was that the whole 
family who had come to years turned to God. The 
master and the servants were frequently seen at the 
family altar praying together. 

Li the providence of God, he removed from Dur- 
ham's camp-ground to Westport, on the Ohio Biver. 
Here a new field opened to his nsefulness. He had 
preaching at his house. He went to Louisville and 
opened the first pork-house ever established on the 
western waters. It is told of him that the pork- 
house hands were organized into a family, and when 
it was yet dark the voice of thanksgiving and praise 
was heard to ascend from the rude altar. At church 
on Sabbath, at class, and every-where he was a living 
epistle of the Master. 



212 BIOGRAPHIES. 

His work was soon done. He reached the goal 
before many of his seniors. A raging fever pulled 
down the strong man. In a few days the man be- 
loved by hundreds — the man who prayed without 
ceasing — exchanged the cross for the crown. 

"How inscrutable are thy judgments, God!" 
The works and piety of Brother Tadlock will never 
be forgotten. 



DE. NELSON CRANE. 

This laborious and much-esteemed physician of 
Perryville was born in Virginia, in the year 1792. 
After a preliminary education, he commenced the 
study of medicine in his native state. In company 
with his parents, he emigrated in 1810 to Kentucky. 
He finished his studies in Springfield, with Dr. Bar- 
bour. He immediately commenced the active duties 
of his profession, selecting Perryville as the field of 
his labors. His industry, no less than his skill, soon 
brought around him many warm and devoted friends. 
He was a man of one business, bending all the 
energies of his mind to an understanding of the 
different phases of the common diseases of the 
country, and their appropriate remedies. His strict 
attention to the poor as well as the rich proved his 
heart to be in the right place. More than half his 
professional services in early life were rendered 



J 



DR. NELSON CRANE. 213 

gratuitously, and through a loug practice of forty 
years he scarcely collected a competency from his 
patrons. No season or circumstances prevented him 
from obeying the calls of suifering humanity. He 
often rode ten miles by night in the dead of winter, 
through thick forests and over a mountainous coun- 
try, to relieve the sufferings of those who had naught 
to pay; and, after applying his skill, lay down upon 
a bed of straw or leaves supperless. 

By vigilant attentions at the sick-bed, he made 
himself familiar with the common diseases of our 
climate. He practiced what is termed the "heroic 
system" in medicine, and often remarked to his 
brethren of the profession: "It is useless to fight 
giants with straws." It is in place here to relate 
an incident characteristic of the man. He had a 
patient in the country who vras about to die. At 
one of his visits, after prescribing, he was about to 
leave, vrhen he was told that an Indian doctor of 
rather dusky complexion would soon be there for a 
consultation. "Well," said Dr. C, "I have no ob- 
jection to holding a consultation with any respect- 
able physician, or an old woman, but to countenance 
a nigger doctor is too much." So saying, he took 
leave and never returned. 

While he was urbane and modest, scarcely ever 
obtruding his opinions upon society, he ignored the 
peculiar doctrines of all steamers, dydropatliists, 



214 BIOGRAPHIES. 

homeopathists, and eclectics. Dr. C. was a true- 
hearted friend, a devoted father, a good citizen, and 
a philanthropist. He was an Odd Fellow, and as such 
endeared himself to the whole fraternity. In early 
life he embraced the religion of Christ, and joined the 
Methodist Church; but, like many, he neglected the 
ordinances of the house of God, and became a back- 
slider. But during a revival of religion in this place, 
two years before his death, he came forward in the 
congregation with outspread arms, exclaiming, "I 
have come home — I have come home !" From that 
period until his death he was a devoted, true-hearted 
Christian. His last days were spent in praises to God, 
notwithstanding the protracted and painful disease 
(chonic disease of the stomach) under which he la- 
bored. But a few hours before he expired, he was 
asked by a friend if he wanted any thing. He said: 
" Nothing but my blessed Jesus." Then he repeated 
aloud, " I am happy — I am happy ! Glory, glory, 
glory hallelujah!" He continued in this frame of 
mind for a few hours, and then took his exit from 
the shores of time. A funeral sermon was delivered 
by Rev. H. C. Northcott to the largest audience 
ever convened on a funeral occasion in Perry ville. 
The Odd Fellowship, relatives, and the whole com- 
munity attended him to his resting-place in our 
cemetery. Such is a meager sketch of the life and 
death of Dr. N. Crane. 



MISS POLLY BKADBURN. 215 

ISITSS POI.LY BRADBUPvN. 

It is a common practice to lierald the deeds and 
commemorate the virtues of kings, queens, and 
princes in history by monumental marble, while 
the virtues and deeds of the " hewers of wood and 
drawers of water," their more deserving subjects, 
are passed by "unhonored and unsung." But few 
among our historians, like Lamartine, has had the 
justice or the magnanimity to notice the inimitable 
artist, Bernard de Pallissy, or the inventive genius of 
a Jacquard. Columbus, Queen Elizabeth, Peter the 
Great, Washington, Franklin, Jackson, Napoleon, 
and Clay have all received their just meed of praise. 
But who has perpetuated the memory of the thou- 
sands by Avhose devotion and indomitable courage 
these w^orthies were enabled to perform their won- 
derful achievements ? I would that some historian 
were to be found who appreciated and would record 
the sacrifices and acts of the worthy mem^bers of the 
Christian Church. 

It is the purpose of this sketch to tell of one — 
an humble female — who in early life became a bene- 
factor of her race. She was born in Virginia, and 
when very young emigrated to Kentucky and settled 
in Danville. Being by death deprived of her parents, 
she vfas compelled to ply her needle and tax her 
utmost skill to provide for the wants of a beloved 



216 BIOGIIAPIIIES. 

sister and two brothers. Here slie became deeply 
pious, and joined the Metliodist Church. Notwith- 
standing her everj-day labors were severe, she found 
time to visit the sick, and give nightly attentions to 
the dying. In nursing the sick she seemed never 
to grow weary. Hence, her assistance was sought 
for many miles around her dwelling. I have seen 
her night after night by the dying couch, with sleep- 
less eyes, her hand upon the feverish brow, pouring 
the "oil and wine of consolation" into the soul 
about to be dislodged from its tenement of cla}^ 
She uttered the last prayer over the d^-ing, closed 
their eyes, and was the last to leave the house of 
mourning. The widow and the orphan shared largely 
of her sympathies, and she was ever ready with her 
counsel and her tears. 

In 182G there was but a small nucleus of a Meth- 
odist Church in Danville. Her house was tendered 
as class-room and church for the society. She had 
the happiness to see, in her own humble dwelling, 
"the glor}^ of the Lord go forth as brightness, and 
his salvation as a lamp tliat burnetii." 

In 1883, wlicn that strange and erratic scourge of 
nations, cholera, visited Danville, like a true heroine, 
she faced the danger and said: "If I perish I per- 
ish." From house to house she bent her course — 
every-where she was seen as an angel of mercy, 
putting the cup of cold water to tlic parched lips, 



DUNCAN F. ROBERTSON. 217 

and shrouding the dead. "When physicians, preachers, 
and nurses were all sick or had fled, this noble- 
hearted lady was ready to die at her post. Her 
work Avas not yet done. God shielded her "from 
the pestilence that walked in darkness, and the 
destruction that wasted at noonday." Yfhile some 
that stood by her side, entitled to the highest praise, 
were cut down, she came out of the visitation un- 
scathed. She lived to see the church of her choice 
in a prosperous condition, and through a lapse of 
many years continued her labors for suffering hu- 
manity. We need not ask how she died. "Precious 
in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." 
Monuments and costly marble adorn the graves 
of the rich, and the few who fell in their country's 
defense at Buena Vista, but no rich marble with 
appropriate inscription tells the resting-place of the 
ashes of Miss Polly Bradburn. 



DUNCAN F. PvOBERTSON. 

"An honest man is the noblest work of God." 

The life of an individual is public property. The 
greater his virtue the more precious is the treasure. 
Howard vras a philanthropist; Joan of Arc v/as the 
deliverer of her country; W^ashington was a true 
patriot. Yet many have lived as pure, as patriotic, 
and as self-sacrificing as those above named. If u 



218 • BIOGUAPHIES. 

true history of the world could be written, there 
would be found obscure individuals whose works 
would shine " as the brightness of the firmament." 
Providence assigned them a w^ork, and they accom- 
plished it. Their graves may be unknown, but 
^' their works follow them." 

I wish to call up to memory one now passed away, 
that young men may admire and imitate. There 
lived once in our midst a school-master gifted by 
nature with a good heart and a clear head. Educa- 
tion gave a polish to his words and manners. Those 
who saw^ him were fascinated by his witching smile ; 
those who knew him best loved him. Born to a for- 
tune, his benevolent heart cast the treasure around 
him with but little discrimination until his thousands 
were reduced to hundreds. The treasure was gone; 
but his liberality, though not bountiful, was in kind 
the same. Late in life he became what he ought 
to have been in youth — a Christian. After his con- 
version, he told his Christian friends that whatever 
betided him, "he counted it all joy. If it was 
persecution, loss of property, adversity, or pros- 
perity, it worked in him the same thing — joy." 

As a teacher he was peculiar. When gentle words 
would do he was kind as a mother, but to the incor- 
rigible he was " terrible as an army with banners." 

A presidential candidate was once lauded for giv- 
ing a poor boy a stick of candy. If this was a 



DUNCAN F. ROBERTSON. 219 

quality fitting liim for that high office, our school- 
master ought to have filled the presidential chair 
lono; before his death. The truant and wicked boy, 
who on Friday received "forty stripes save one," 
was sure on Saturday to have thrust into his hand 
or pockets candy, nuts, or raisins, to evince love for 
the scholar, and that the chastisement was intended 
for his good. Indeed, on Saturday of each week, 
it would be difficult to tell which received the visits 
of the master with the greatest delight, the confec- 
tioner or the master's scholars. But why should 
I feebly attempt to paint a character which Pollok 
has draAvn to the life? 

"The law of love was in his heart, alive; 
What he possessed he counted not his own, 
But, like a faithful steward in a house 
Of public alms, what freely he received 
He freely gave, distributing to all 
The helpless the last mite beyond his own 
Temperate support. "* * •■■ * 

Nor did he wait till to his door the voice 
Of supplication came, but went abroad, 
With foot as silent as the starry dews. 
In search of misery that pined unseen, 
And would not ask." 

As a member of the church, he was an example 
even to the most pious. The young and indigent 
preacher never left his house, while itinerating 
through the world, without receiving his parting 



220 BIOGRAPHIES. 

blessing, and with the parting hand a five-dollar bill 
to pay his passage. 

It is true, he professed eccentricities of character 
peculiar to himself, but these were innocent. As a 
father, neighbor, and friend, he was the kindest and 
the best. Many of the most eminent scholars, states- 
men, and divines of the West recollect with grateful 
hearts that under his guidance, instructions, and 
wholesome discipline they started on the road to 
honor and to fame. 

I have here attempted to take the likeness of the 
old school-master; and let me ask: Who does not 
recognize the picture? Hundreds exclaim at once, 
"It is the exact photograph of Duncan F. Rob- 
ertson." 



AUNT TABITHA COCKE. 

"Heaven waits not the last moment — owns her friends 
On this side death, and points them out to men." 

The broad Amazon, the mysterious Nile, and 
the deep and extended Mississippi, each gathers its 
waters from sources almost imperceptible. First, the 
little gurgling spring trickles down from the side 
of the mountain; then the limpid stream, running 
through cultivated fields and barren sands and 
dense forests, widening and deepening and gather- 
ing strength at every flow. Proud navies, com- 



AUNT TABITIIA COCKE. 221 

merce, and trade are borne upon its bosom. So 
with the moral actions of men — 

"Little deeds of kindness, 
Little words of love, 
Make our earth an Eden 
Like to heaven above." 

The fountain may be so obscure as to have been 
noticed but by few, yet it has sent forth its clear, 
sweet waters for fifty, sixty, or eighty years, and 
these have mingled with kindred drops, forming a 
stream blessing and rejoicing mankind. 

We drop the figure to notice the life of one who 
has long since passed to the Ocean of Love to enjoy 
the true riches which her sanctified heart had for 
many years been treasuring up in that better world 
'' where moth and rust do not corrupt." Aunt Tab- 
itha Cocke was born in Yirginia; her education 
was received in a wealthy family ; yet she imbibed 
the true spirit of a Christian, and early devoted 
her talents and means to the calls of charity. Her 
words were words of kindness, w^ithout mixture of 
censoriousness; she ''blessed and cursed not;" fem- 
inine grace and love characterized every action, 
whether in the private circle, in the house of God, 
or in the distribution of her charities. The sick 
ever had the first place in her thoughts. Often 
have such received from her hand the delicately- 
prepared morsel suited to their deep and inveterate 



222 BIOGRAPHIES. 

disease, or to their convalescence. She was the first 
to find out and ofi"er comforts to the sick and dying. 
In this ''labor of love" she was unremitting. Hun- 
dreds, among the poor as well as the rich, have 
reason to bless her name for acts of charity be- 
stowed in time of need. A crowning grace in her 
life was, that she never forsook or neglected old 
friends and acquaintances. 

A lady in poor circumstances had settled in 
Kentucky who had been her playmate in the Old 
Dominion. Passing the road where she lived. Aunt 
Tabitha called to see her, and on leaving made a 
deposit of a twenty-dollar bill in her hand as a 
token of their early friendship. How many such 
deposits she made during her pious life eternity 
alone will reveal. 

She had wealthy and beloved relatives, but never 
for a day did these call ofi" her mind from her work of 
visiting the sick, and preparing some little delicacy 
that might tempt the appetite or nourish their sink- 
ing systems. Heroes and heroines have each labored 
and suffered in a particular cause, and posterity has 
awarded them civic honors, while the humble, un- 
obtrusive dispensers of blessings to the poor and 
needy have scarcely ever received their just meed 
of praise. If goodness of heart, affability of man- 
ners, well-directed charities, and a life-long devotion 
to " whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things 



MRS. MARGARET FULKERSON. 223 

aro jnst, Avliatsover things are pure, wliatsover things 
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report," 
should entitle an individual to the highest praise 
and the tenderest regards of society, then Danville 
must long cherish the memory and bless the name 
of Aunt Tabitha Cocke. 



MRS. MARGARET FULKERSON. 

In our woe-stricken world, there is in human 
character many an oasis to guide the bewildered 
and fainting traveler across the mighty desert of 
life. The jewels of God are in his church; the 
brightest stars cluster around his altar; and but 
for their bright example many a poor, benighted 
soul would be lost. 

Mrs. Margaret Fulkerson was one of the 
brightest of the whole constellation. Her person 
and features when young would have formed a 
model for the Grecian artist. 

"'T is not a lip or eye we beauty call, 
But the full force and joint effect of all." 

Like a fair flower, she was admired and coveted. 
Her maiden name was Harrison. She married Mr. 
John Briscoe, a wealthy and respectable farmer. 
In her he found not only a loving companion, but 
an industrious and pious helpmate. After many 



224 BIOGRAPHIES. 

years of domestic happiness she was left a widow, 
with a hirge family of children. The prize was still 
coveted, and she became the wife of Major A. Ful- 
kerson. Being now^ matured in years, and her mind 
softened by affection and true piety, she became the 
admired of all admirers. The church looked to her 
as its pattern and bright star. The w^ail of woe, 
the tear of the orphan and the widow, w^ere never 
unnoticed by her. She remembered "them that 
w^ere bound as bound with them, and them that 
were in adversity as being herself also in the flesh." 

"The drying up a single tear has more 
Of honest fame than shedding seas of gore." 

Memory, true as the needle to the pole, points us 
back to the deeds of the great, and cold and callous 
is the heart that neglects the lessons they teach. 
The whirl of a mad and busy world may 

"Petrify the feelings" 

while the benefactor lives; but to the contemplative 
mind the truly good, like the natural sun, seem 
larger at their setting. All spots are hidden, and 
their virtues and their piety gild their entire path- 
way. As 

"Fond memory to her duty true 
Brings back their faded forms to view, 
How life-like thro' the mist of years 
Each well-remembered face appears!" 



225 

Thougli they sleep, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, 
martyrs, and saints shed a halo of glory around us, 
and brido;e the g-ulf that separates this from the 

CI a J- 

spirit-land. 

"There is perpetual spring, perpetual youth; 
No joint-benumbing cold nor scorching heat, 
Famine, nor age have any being there." 



DEATH'S DOrXGS 

Are ever afflictive to man; and ^dien we reflect 
that all its untold woes and horrors are endured 
because " sin has entered into the world, and death 
by sin," feelings of repentance and deep regret should 
possess every breast. Man has sinned himself. Death 
has become the executioner of the decree, "dust thou 
art, and unto dust thou shalt return." In the pro- 
visions of the gospel we find our only remedy, "As 
in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made 
alive." Did the Gospel contain a promise less than 
this, what heart could sufl"er the bereavements of 
this present life — the severance of ties binding 
stronger than a "three-fold cord?" We have been 
told that "friendship is but a name;" but this is the 
sentiment of the misanthrope. The Christian heart 
cherishes the love of kindred and friends ; and when 
death makes his inroads upon either, the only solace 
is the meeting which is anticipated in the spirit-land. 

19 



226 BIOGRAPHIES. 

The above reflections were suggested upon attend- 
ing recently the funeral of Miss Susan Clark, 
who died at the residence of R. P. Gregory, Esq., 
on the loth of October, 1854. Her disease was 
cancer of the breast. Her suiferings were great 
durins: the last twelve months of her life. She was 
an exemplary member of the Christian church; but 
her catholic spirit and tolerance were evinced by the 
selection, almost with her djang breath, of a Meth- 
odist minister to preach her funeral sermon. Few 
have lived more beloved, or died more regretted. 



MRS. AGNES TILFOED 

^ Died at the house of her son-in-law^, John S. 
Gregory, in Washington County, Kentucky, on the 
22d day of June, 1863. 

The living mourn, as mourn they must, when the 
good are stricken. The pall, the coffin, the wind- 
ing-sheet add not to the solemnities of the funeral 
occasion. It is enough, and as much as the heart 
can bear, that she whose smile is heaven, and whose 
tender caresses and counsel cheered and consoled 
us, is taken. The priceless treasure was possessed 
so long that its final loss only doubles the estimate 
of its value. 

Mrs. A. Tilford was one of those rare women. 



MRS. AGNES TILFORD. 227 

born at the beginning of the present century, whose 
domestic industry and cheerfulness was crowned with 
good health and a competency. In her later years 
she divided her time between the church and visits 
to her children and friends ; and never were visits 
more anxiously sought, or more highly appreciated. 
She was at home in the church. Although a 
member of the Reformed Church, her Christian 
charity led her into every assemblage of the 
saints within her reach. She seemed to know no 
leader but Christ, and acknowledged no authority 
but His will. Long will her memory be cherished 
by thousands, who were proud to call her sister and 
friend. Long will her tomb be visited by children 
and grandchildren, as a place sacred by reason of 
the dust of one whose loss they mourn ; and while 
they plant the rose, the lily, the hyacinth, and the 
myrtle upon her grave, busy memory will call up 
the deeds of her life, and angel whispers will invig- 
orate the soul to press on toward the goal she has 
already gained. 

"A spirit as pure as hers 
Is always pure, e'en when it errs, 
As sunshine broken by a rill, 
Though turn'd astray, is sunshine still." 



228 BIOGRAPHIES. 

JOHX TOMPKI^^S. 

The world's history is composed of tlie life and 
death of each individual. "While many come forth 
and retire almost unnoticed, others live and die 
remembered and honored by posterity. The history 
of the patriot and Christian alike deserve our praise, 
and are worthy of our emulation. AVe learn our 
duty, and walk safely only by the lights afforded us 
by their bright example. 

The name at the head of this article is that of one 
who received, while he lived, a large share of public 
confidence and esteem. His social qualities, ingen- 
uous friendship, large benevolence and piety, gained 
for him the enviable name of " the man ivith a large 
souir 

His early manhood was spent in industry, mani- 
festins: an indomitable will to accomplish whatever 
he undertook to do. To will and to do was his 
motto. 

Later in life, after passing through many misfor- 
tunes, by strange instrumentalities he was brought 
to embrace religion. His conversion v.as not of 
that pale, sickly assent of the mind to the truths of 
Christianity, that make the convert a silent, inef- 
ficient member of the church, but a healthful, living, 
active faith, evinced by deep devotion and good 
works. What he professed lie never concealed, but 



JOHN TOMPKIKS. 229 

endeavored to show it to the world around him, ?ay- 
ino; to all, *• Come and go with me.'' Amons: the 
saints he was the most zealous, the most liberal. If 
any in the bestowment of Christian charities wrote 
twenty, he wrote forty. If pride he had, it was to 
excel in a liberal support of the church to Avhich he 
belonged. He often said to his brethren, " The church 
is mv first care, then my family." Those who, with 
him, bestowed liberally, were his dear brethren, while 
the slow and close-handed were scarcely tolerated. 
Whom he loved, he loved ardently ; whom he hated, 
he hated with a right good Avill. 

An incident, after his conversion to Christianity, 
sets forth the whole character of the man. When 
he was of the world, he had engaged to open and 
keep in repair a race-course, for five years, on his 
own farm. One year had passed. After he had 
joined the church, he sought the counsel of preach- 
ers and brethren, and they advised him to refuse 
longer to open his gates to the jockey club. He 
listened to them respectfully, but determined to act 
on his own responsibility. He was just ready to 
start south, to be absent six months. He told his 
wife to go on as usual; have the race-track put in 
complete order; and he left a sealed letter with 
instructions to govern on the days of racing. All 
was done; the sportsmen were on the ground; the 
letter was opened, and read thus: '"It is my will 



230 BIOGRAPHIES. 

that at the ensuing spring races the gates shall be 
thrown open, free for all to enter; that no liquor or 
refreshments of any kind be allowed on the prem- 
ises. This I have a right to demand, as it violates 
no part of my contract." The result was, that after 
one day's sport the crowd withdrew, and never again 
molested him. 

Danville may flourish and decay, but as long as 
one stone is left upon another, they will bear the 
impress of her great benefactor. His name, his 
virtues, and his deeds will live and tell upon the 
hearts of his family and friends. He did not live 
to himself, nor for himself; he did not die to himself. 
His life and death are a rich inheritance bequeathed 
to posterity. 



THOMAS PREWETT. 

It is not alone Kentucky's titled sons that deserve 
our highest praise. There are often humble farmers 
whose lives and characters shine with as much luster 
as those who occupy more exalted positions in society. 
The history of every individual can not be given in 
one book; but it is strange that so many worthy 
men and women are suffered to descend to the grave 
without a decent notice of their virtues by disinter- 
ested biographers. 

The name of Thomas Prewett lives in the hearts 



THOMAS PREWETT. 231 

and memories of his children and friends, and in the 
church of which he was a worthy member. It is 
now our purpose to speak of him only as a citizen. 
In early life he was poor, and, like many of the 
youth at the time, he received but a limited educa- 
tion. It was, however, early discovered that he 
possessed a clear head and a good heart. Industry 
was the leading trait in his character — to will and 
to do was the same with him. He married an esti- 
mable lady, and through forty years never was there 
a happier union. Seven children — four sons and 
three daughters — crowned their married life, and he 
and his companion rank near together, in a good old 
age, to the grave. But we have wandered, and will 
return. 

Thomas Prewett, we have already noticed, was dili- 
gent in business, and he soon became owner of a small 
tract of land, but soon found himself cramped in his 
farming operations. He sold out his small farm, and 
invested the money in a large one. Here his house 
became a resting-place for his friends, and a resort 
for the stock-drivers who were passing through the 
country. His health failed, and he had serious 
thoughts of selling out, as he owed a large debt on 
his land. While he was struggling under disease 
and clebt, many said he was a "broken man." His 
health improved, however, and in a few years his 
large indebtedness was liquidated. The borrower now 



232 BIOGRAPIIIEB, 

became the lender. His wealth steadily increased, 
and his hospitality was unbounded. 

But a cloud again came over his pathway. A 
trader came from New Orleans to his house, and, by 
oily words and large promises he was induced to go 
into a large speculation in mules. A son of Mr. 
T. P. accompanied the trader as a partner. Shortly 
after their arrival in New Orleans, youno- Prewett 
sickened and died, and his partner took possession 
of the stock and all the money of the firm, and it 
was only by a course of law and great sacrifice that 
the father was enabled to get his hand out of the 
lion's jaw. Under this bereavement and loss of 
money his mind became despondent. However, by 
the indul2;ence of friends, he was soon a2;ain on the 
road to wealth. Every thing on his farm again 
assumed a happy aspect. 

Although he traded largely in stock, he never 
proposed a trade to the stock-driver until he had 
first tried to sell the stranger's stock to others, to 
which he often gave a week's gratuitous service ; 
hence he became a favorite with that class of men. 
His friendship was ardent, his zeal untiring, his 
counsel highly valued, his judgment sound, and his 
truthfulness undoubted. No man has lived more 
respected, or died more regretted. 

"But there are deeds wliicli should not pass away; 
And names that must not wither." 



DR. JOHN FLEE3E. 233 

DR. JOHN FLEECE 

Was a unique man, in form, manner, and vivacity 
of spirit. He infused life and good feeling into 
every circle where he moved. His songs — he was a 
a fine vocalist— and his sprightly wit made him a 
favorite in every social entertainment. These social 
qualities led him, in early life, into company which 
was calculated to lead any but the best fortified 
minds astray. Hence, at the dance and other fash- 
ionable follies, he participated with a zest and zeal 
that won admiration. 

A severe affliction in his youth, rendering him 
incapable of farm-work, caused him to turn his 
attention to other pursuits. Accordingly, after a 
preliminary education, he studied medicine with Dr. 
Anthony Hunn, a native of Germany, then prac- 
ticing medicine in Danville. Here young Fleece 
had fine opportunities for learning, as his preceptor 
was acknowledged by all as successful in the healing 
art, and a fine operator in surgery. 

After finishing his medical education, he married 
the well-known and highly esteemed lady — who still 
survives him — Mrs. Elizabeth Fleece. Her maiden 
name was Elizabeth Buster. 

"From that day forth, in peace and joyous bliss, 
They lived together long without debate; 
Nor private jars, nor spite of enemies. 

Could shake the safe assurance of their state." 
20 



234 BIOGRAPHIES. 

Dr. F. commenced the practice of his profession 
in the State of Tennessee, but soon removed to 
Danville. His popularity increased rapidly in the 
presence of many older physicians, until the labor 
was too great for one practitioner. He associated 
with himself that amiable and skillful physician, 
Joseph Weisiger. Through a series of years their 
practice was arduous. Dr. F. was the favorite of 
the people ; and this is not to be wondered at, as he 
attended every call of the poor as well as the rich. 

In the great revival of religion in Danville, in the 
years 1828-30, inclusive. Dr. F. entered the pale of 
the church. His zeal and usefulness were scarcely 
ever equaled by any lay member. His rare vocal 
powers made him a leader in the singing of the con- 
gregations of the saints. His house was a place of 
resort for the preachers and pious members of the 
various churches of the place. Many looked upon 
the delightful scene and exclaimed: 

"0, happy pair, to every blessing born! 

For you may life's calm stream unruffled run; 
For you its roses bloom without a thorn, 

And bright as morning shine in every sun." 

And indeed this prayer seemed about to be real- 
ized, when a dark and impenetrable cloud gathered 
over this happy family. First, the eldest, a son, 
was lost from a steamboat on the Mississippi ; sec- 
ond, a daughter dies of consumption ; then another — 



THOMAS DURHAM. 235 

then another — then another; two sons of the same 
disease, and three small children — diseases unknown. 
But the heaviest stroke was dealt, by the eminent 
physician, the kind husband, and affectionate father, 
ending his earthly career by a fall from a horse. 
The aged widow and three sons only of the large 
and once happy family now survive. 



THOMAS DURHAM. 

This individual was one of a noble race who first 
tilled the soil of Boyle County. He married an 
estimable lady — a lady of rare beauty and deep 
piety — Miss Frances Moss. Never was there a 
happier union. 

"No jealousy their dawn of love o'ercast, 

Nor blasted were their wedded days with strife; 
Each season looked delightful as it pass'd 
The fond husband and the faithful wife." 

Each of them acted well their part in the drama 
of life. Their house became the nursery of piety 
and true love, sending out a fragrance and healthful 
influence to bless society. "Whatsoever things are 
true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things 
are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever 
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good 
report," were found in the family circle they gov- 
erned. Hospitality, love, and friendship marked 



236 BIOGRAPHIES. 

their intercourse with society. God had blessed 
them with a competence of worldly goods, and they 
dispensed it liberally as his stewards. The church 
and the interests of the church were the objects 
dearest to their hearts. The most pious were the 
most beloved by them; hence their house became 
the center of attraction for itinerant preachers and 
worthy laymen, who were laboring to build up the 
cause of God. Frequently, for days, after attend- 
ing a protracted meeting, their house resounded with 
shouts, prayer, and praise. 

"And let not this seem strange; the devotee 
Lives not on earth, but in his ecstacy; 
Around him days and worlds are heedless driven; 
His soul is gone before his dust to heaven." 

This good man has finished his work, and leaves 
to posterity a name and a character that the young 
ought to desire for themselves, and of which his 
children ought to be proud. 

The disease which terminated his useful life was 
peculiar — encysted dropsy, in the left side. From 
the sack his physicians drew sixty-two gallons of a 
dark fluid, by tapping, in the space of two or three 
months. 



JEREMIAH BRISCOE. 237 

JEREMIAH BRISCOE, 

Born near Perryville, reared in our midst, spent 
Lis life in acts of benevolence and devotion to the 
interests of the church. If faults he had, the most 
prominent were, neglect of family and self for the 
promotion and welfare of others. His mind was 
imbued with the true Christian spirit — charity. He 
counseled and gave employment to the poor and 
friendless, to his own hurt pecuniarily; hence he 
was beloved by a large circle of friends. While 
avarice and cupidity would insinuate that acts like 
his were not required of the Christian, they acknowl- 
edged that often, by such acts, bread was bestowed 
that fed the hungry and gladdened the house of 
want. In the church he was a standard-bearer, 
always backing precept by example ; never afraid to 
do right. In society generally he was aifable, kind, 
and tolerant. His own opinions he held firmly, but 
accorded to others the same sincerity and conscien- 
tiousness he claimed for himself. 

His earthly career was short; yet it may safely 
be said of him, he accomplished as much good in 
that short period as many others have done in a life 
of three-score and ten. By the church, by his 
children, by the community generally, his name 
and his virtues will be embalmed in their recollec- 
tions of the past. 



238 BIOGRAPHIES. 

"Count life by vii'tues; these will last 
When life's lame-footed race is o'er; 
And these, when earthly joys are past, 
Shall cheer us on a brighter shore." 



SAMUEL M'GINNIS 

Was one of those representative men of the early 
part of the present century whose sound judgment, 
industry, honesty, and religious zeal endeared him 
to a large circle of friends. He was born near 
where he lived and died. He never aspired to any 
position higher in life than to be a model farmer, an 
honest man, and a devoted Christian. In all these 
relations he was acknowledged as a pattern. Like 
most of his cotemporaries, he had but a limited edu- 
cation, and wild and thoughtless young men fre- 
quently led him into paths of unrighteousness, yet 
he was industrious and honest. At the age of 
about twenty-five years he married Miss Margaret 
M'Ginnis (a cousin), and never was there a happier 
man. 

"But happy they, the happiest of their kind. 
Whom gentle stars unite, and in one fate 
Their hearts, their fortunes, and their beings blend." 

By industry and perseverance he soon acquired 
a competency of this world's goods, but he was a 
neglecter of the "one thing needful." It was his 
good fortune, however, to be located in a community 



SAMUEL m'ginnis. 239 

of zealous and exemplary Christians. By these he 
was led to the house of God, and, under the strong 
appeals of the Methodist ministry, he was convicted 
of sin. He now gave up every concernment of life 
to seek for the "pearl of great price." To use his 
own emphatic langua,ge — "I neither ate, drank, nor 
slept until my burdened soul was comforted. I then 
began a new life, joined the church, and endeav- 
ored to live the life of a Christian." 

Before his conversion to Christianity, he had 
loaned several thousand dollars to different indi- 
viduals at ten per cent. He now went to them and 
changed the rate, telling them six per cent, was all 
he required. The church found him to be a liberal 
and pious member. At all collections for the sup- 
port of the gospel he gave liberally, and his wife 
also gave liberally and separately, as if she was not 
of the same family. His house was a home for the 
itinerant preachers, to whom he showed the greatest 
kindness. He possessed peculiar traits of charac- 
ter — by many called faults. He held it to be dis- 
honest not to meet every obligation promptly, hence 
he was always a day or two in advance of his prom- 
ise to pay off any note held against him. Like 
many farmers, he had favorite horses and brood 
mares ; when these were old and worn out they re- 
ceived the tenderest care — indeed, no animal suffered 
on his farm for want of food and proper attention. 



240 BIOGRAPHIES. 

Therefore, whatever stock he offered for sale com- 
manded high prices. 

He had his favorite preachers — J. G. Bruce, 
Josiah Godbj, Dr. Hicks, and Dr. J. J. Polk. To 
each of these gentlemen he bequeathed at his death 
one hundred dollars as a token of his high regard 
for them. 

The horse being a favorite animal with him, he 
studied his nature, habits, and diseases with great 
care ; hence he became one of the best horse farriers 
of the country. He frequently performed opera- 
tions on the horse which would have done honor to 
the most skillful surgeons in operative surgery, if 
applied to human subjects. His practice in this 
useful science was extensive — entirely gratuitous to 
his neighbors. 

He was a man of one business — a farmer; of one 
religion — a Methodist. He was economical and pru- 
dent in all his domestic habits that he might be lib- 
eral to the church and the calls of mercy. 

He died, in his sixty-ninth year, of palsy. The 
world is not the worse by his having lived in it. 



BOOK OF PROVERBS. 



CHAPTER I. 



1. Act not the part of a referee until you are 
chosen. 

2. Seldom give advice until you are asked. 

3. Meddle not with the quarrels of others un- 
necessarily. 

4. Count the cost of every undertaking. 

5. Attempt nothing but what you can accom- 
plish. 

6. Earn your bread before you eat it. 

7. Pay your old debts before you make new 
ones. 

8. Go to mill before the last dust of your meal 
is eaten. 

9. Grace at the table is better than grace on 
acceptances. 

10. Pleasure is the natural ofF-shoot of a virtuous 
mind. 

11. Grapes are sweet if they arc not out of our 
reach. 



242 BOOK OF PROVERBS. 

12. Grog-shops and jails are the houses of drunk- 
ards. 

13. Sheriffs and constables are great friends to 
debtors; thej often call upon them. 

14. Every man that eats your bread is not your 
friend. 

15. Parents make money by industry for their 
children to spend in idleness. 

16. A cloth coat and a gold watch are passports 
for boys on the road to ruin. 

17. Better carry a Bible in your pocket than a 
pistol. 

18. A clergyman at a masquerade ball is a sheep 
in wolf's clothing. 

19. Many preachers are useful as sign-boards, and 
for nothing else. 

20. Inordinate love of wine and women will de- 
stroy the best constitution. 

21. All machines will rust out sooner than they 
will wear out. 

22. The best employment of time is to visit the 
sick and dying; it pays a large interest. 

23. Ingenuity is the weak man's lever; by it he 
overturns mountains. 

24. The submarine telegraph makes Europe and 
America neighbors. 

25. We know there are pearls at the bottom of 
the ocean, but there are few who seek after them. 



BOOK OF PROVERBS. 



243 



26. We know there is a heaven, but there are few 
who seek after it. 

27. Hope is a faithful friend; it is the last that 
leaves us. 

28. Any rare sight is a show that fools are ready 
to pay for. 

29. You must scare a man by presenting to his 
mind danger before he will seek the ark of safety. 

30. A good Christian will watch as well as pray. 



CHAPTER II. 

1. A proud man is a laughing-stock for angels. 

2. Satan is the great progenitor of all liars. 

3. Buying men and women is buying God's image 
to trample upon it. 

4. The best Christian is he that does every thing 
the best. 

5. Some preachers call for hearers, then call for 
their dinners. 

6. Go to the theater if you want to learn vice; 
go to the church if you want to unlearn it. 

7. The old can instruct us more than the young, 
because of their experience. 

8. Knowledge is not always good; Cain knew 
that he slew his brother Abel. 

9. God deals with us as we deal with our chil- 
dren; he both chastises and caresses. 



244 BOOK OF PROVERBS. 

10. The drunkard's throat is the devil's sewer, 
into which he pours the slop of his kitchen. 

11. The worst and most destructive worm is the 
worm of the still. 

12. He that sells whisky sells damnation, and 
after sweetens it to make it palatable. 

13. Why do we mix water with whisky when we 
drink it? For the same reason that we pour on 
water to put out fire. 

14. The crown of a lady is her own hair; the 
crown of a prudish woman is horse-hair. 

15. Prunella shoes fit only to walk on carpets. 

16. A small bonnet is an umbrella placed upon a 
mountain to protect it from sunshine. 

17. An old man with a young wife is the worst 
sight under the sun ; both should be pitied. 

18. Sitting in a hundred-dollar chair will not cure 
the toothache. 

19. The wise man thinks all things were made with- 
out him; the fool thinks all things were made for him. 

20. A baby in an old man's arms is like a wee hit 
of a flower growing on the top of an old rotten 
stump. 

21. Doctors and cranes have long bills; both are 
destructive to little fishes. 

22. The wise man says : A prudent wife is from 
the Lord. A¥e would like to know where the impru- 
dent wife is from. 



BOOK OF PROVERBS. 245 

23. Four companions, Folly, Shame, Anger, and 
Remorse, travel in the same path, single file; Folly 
foremost. Shame close on his heels. Anger third, and 
Remorse at his back; thus they have been traveling 
for six thousand years. 

24. Animals have souls as well as men, but folly's 
creed has never yet embraced this truth. 

25. All men are cowards at the hour of death, 
except Christians. 

26. A man often forgets his creditors, but never 
forgets his debtors. 

27. Interest on notes we owe silently steals upon 
us, whether we are asleep or awake. 

28. An insolvent man scarcely ever has a good 
character. 

29. Riches make us respectable with many, al- 
though they were gained by grinding the face of the 
poor. 

CHAPTER III. 

1. The richest man is the man contented with 
what he has. 

2. Mend your manners before you mend your 
shirts. 

3. Claim no relationship unless your relationship 
claim you. 

4. Call for your bill before you call for your 
horse. 



246 BOOK OF PROVERBS. 

5. Join not the church unless you intend to pay 
the preacher. 

6. Clouds go before rain, so does a married man 
go before his wife. 

7. We help our sweetheart to carry her fan, and 
let our wife carry the water. 

8. Doves are natives of every clime; so are 
rascals. 

9. Menageries are traveling pickpockets. 

10. Go not to every show, unless you intend to 
show yourself a fool. 

11. An idle man's head is the devil's work-shop. 

12. A slothful man may meet a snail; he never 
can overtake it. 

13. A woman with her head uncombed is like a 
beautiful flower-bush growing roots upward. 

14. Tight boots are devil's stocks, into which he 
puts the feet of dandies. 

15. Shoes for children are cultivators of tetanus, 
scrofula, rheumatism, and rickets. 

16. A large foot is a sign of a good understanding. 

17. Plebeian, a man who earns his bread by the 
sweat of his brow. 

18. Patrician, a man who consumes what others 
earn. 

19. Better have your head shaved than have your 
notes shaved. 

20. Crossing the Kubicon — paying the last debt. 



BOOK OF PROVERBS. 247 

21. Talented man, the man of my party. 

22. Eat what is set before you; but not all of it. 

23. Show respect if you desire respect. 

24. A boy that drinks, swears, and chews tobacco 
is a jail-bird; he will soon be caged. 

25. A pickpocket, one who cheats and lies in 
buying and selling. 

26. Do what you know to be right, and you will 
please both God and yourself. 

27. Every sore is not a cancer, nor every cough 
consumption. 

28. Some wife is better than no wife at all. 

29. Cold victuals will destroy the temper of the 
best husband. 

30. A wife looks better with smooth hair and 
rough dress, than with smooth dress and rough hair. 



CHAPTER IV. 

1. A GOOD wife makes the man; the want of her 
the fellow. 

2. Children are the pride of parents, if they do 
well. 

3. Parrots talk only what they hear; fools do 
the same. 

4. Spiritualism is science run mad; it is the hy- 
drophobia of the mind. 



248 BOOK OF PEOVERBS. 

5. Phrenology is the science of fools to make 
men think they are wise. 

6. Never plant your potatoes in the moon, but 
in good soil on the earth. 

7. Plow deep if you want a good crop. 

8. Never run from a ghost and butt your brains 
out against a stump. 

9. Poets are a distinct class of men; God made 
them the spice of life. 

10. Never seek for water with a switch, but with 
a spade, mattock, and shovel. 

11. A cold breakfast and a cold dinner are cold 
comforts. 

12. Telegraph wires don't speak, but they give 
signs. 

13. A locomotive on a railroad is no horse, al- 
though it snorts. 

14. A traitor loves himself and family first and 
last. 

15. A patriot loves his country first, self and 
family last. 

16. Religion is the balance-wheel of society; with- 
out it all goes wrong. 

17. Water may be ignited as well as gunpowder. 

18. A waterfall is only hateful on a woman's head. 

19. Tight lacing makes sickly mothers. 

20. Marble yards are the common schools for 
gamblers. 



BOOK OF PROVERBS. 249 

21. Taverns are colleges for the education of 
drunkards. 

22. Bad women and fire both burn. 

23. The hot spring is one of nature's cooking- 
vessels. 

24. Mountains are nature's stand-points. 

25. Rivers are the veins sending the life-giving 
fluid back to the heart of the earth. 

26. The Mammoth Cave is the earth's assophagus. 

27. Stars are the world's eyes ; they close to us 
in day-time. 

28. Yankee enterprise would explore the moon if 
it could only pass the world's attraction. 

29. The polar star points to the polar bear. 

30. Astronomy teaches us many things we do n't 
know. 



CHAPTER V. 

1. Some men are valuable only for soap-grease. 

2. Some women are fit only for playthings. 

3. Carrying pistols and bowie-knives protects 
men from the charge of being brave. 

4. Excuses are often the blackest lies; good 
people do not indulge in them. 

5. Talk but little in buying or selling. 

6. Buy only what you need and you can put 
money on interest. 

21 



250 BOOK OF PROVERBS. 

7. Beggars are not all paupers, nor do thej al- 
ways have on ragged clothes. 

8. A fast young man is a grief to his father's 
pocket. 

9. A fast young lady goes off slow in the matri- 
monial market. 

10. The unpardonable sin, not to pay your debts. 

11. The drunkard blossoms as the rose, but does 
not smell half so sweet. 

12. A fashionable name for toothache — neu- 
ralgia. 

13. The Bible — better understood than practiced. 

14. Loquaciousness and silence are twin brothers. 

15. Keep every secret but such as protect rogues. 

16. Part with your shirt, but retain your honor. 

17. Change not your mind without the clearest 
evidence. 

18. 'T is better to die poor than to die mean. 

19. A funeral procession tells not the worth of 
the dead. 

20. Coffins and shrouds contain no priceless jewels. 

21. That thing that is sweet should be used very 
sparingly. 

22. A wise head and a good heart are not insep- 
arable companions. 

23. Faults are not always sins, but often the reverse. 

24. Doctors dine on the patients' bacon and beans, 
and feed the patient on apothecaries' drugs. 



^ BOOK OF PROVERBS. 251 

25. The flower does not always produce fruit. 

26. Old garments always set easier than new ones. 

27. One old friend is worth a half dozen new ones. 

28. Riches never purify the blood, nor make the 
churl a gentleman. 

29. Fine clothes often cover a deceitful and wicked 
heart. 



CHAPTER YL 

1. Sunshine may kill as well as give life. 

2. Powder is innocent without the match to ig- 
nite it. 

3. A passionate man is an unsafe companion. 

4. No two things are exactly alike to him who 
created them. 

5. Nothing that is healthy decays till its ma- 
turity. 

6. Good jokers seldom have many friends. 

7. Spice is good if it is not too spicy. 

8. Oranges are prized because of their cost. 

9. Self-made is a man who made himself; a curi- 
ous man that. 

10. Heat and cold both burn the living flesh. 

11. Philosophy has not found out every thing. 

12. Seeking for perpetual motion has developed 
great mechanical powers. 

13. Air may be navigated as well as water; the 
time will soon come. 



252. BOOK OF PROVERBS. 

14. He that rises early sees the brightest smile of 
day. 

15. Too much sleep unnerves the body and be- 
clouds the mind. 

16. Fleas are better companions in a house than 
bed-bugs. 

17. A noise is not always disagreeable; it depends 
on what it is about. 

18. Horse-racing improves the breed of horses, 
but destroys the breed of men. 

19. Pretty children make ugly men and women. 

20. Mothers are bad judges of the virtues of their 
children. 

21. The owl thinks her children beautiful. 

22. Joy and sorrow go hand in hand through the 
w^orld. 

28. Temperance societies and grog-shops can 
never live on good terms. 

24. A long bill is no evidence of a good doctor. 

25. Lawyers are not all liars, nor all drunkards. 

26. The components of mechanics' blood are the 
same as those of professional men. 

27. The choicest dinners are reserved for the 
clergy. 

28. The man that gives not to others beggars his 
own soul. 

- 29. To do a thing through spite is to bite your- 
self, like the serpent. 



BOOK OF PROVERBS. 253 



CHAPTER YIL 

1. We can endure slavery, but we never can 
love it. 

2. Pity without help is a cheap commodity. 

3. To law without a good cause and good wit- 
nesses is misspent time. 

4. Death contributes to life, but the soul is im- 
mortal. 

5. The little sparrows have rights as well as men. 

6. Good women and good butter are both highly 
prized. 

7. Snow and frost are the yeast that leavens the 
earth. 

8. Better have the itch than the small-pox. 

9. Wolves are destructive to sheep; so are glut- 
tons. 

10. Stop not to kick every dog that may bark at 
you. 

11. Have a good garden, and your wife will love 
you. 

12. A good wife loves her home; a bad one neg- 
lects it. 

13. A sound mind, a mind deeply imbued with 
Christianity. 

14. Old fogy, a man that denies every thing. 

15. Young America, a man that believes every 
thing. 



254 BOOK OF PROVERBS. 

16. Radical, a man that believes in progress. 

17. Conservative, a man that believes in going 
backward. 

18. Men of mind, men that mind their own busi- 
ness. 

19. A thrifty man, one who earns more than he 
spends. 

20. A bankrupt, one who pays ten per cent, in- 
terest. 

21. The hour of ten calls to bed all honest men. 

22. Internal improvement — to correct our errors. 

23. Do what you believe to be right, whether it is 
right or wrong. 

24. The truth may be blamed, but it never can be 
shamed. 

25. Tell the truth and shame the devil. 

26. Acknowledge your debts, if you never pay 
them. 

27. Self-righteousness — the more a man has of it 
the worse he is off. 

28. Every invention is not an improvement. 

29. Constant Bible readers are always intelligent. 

30. The only way to get good is to do good. 



STATISTICS. 



Of practice as a physician during the years 1838 
to 1866, inclusive, and labors as a preacher during 
the years 1837 to 1866, inclusive: 

Cases of sickness attended to . . . 14,000 

Births attended to 825 

Sermons preached 1,560 

Marriage ceremonies performed . . . 135 



15,510 



Together with many temperance lectures and a 
few political speeches. 

I received no compensation for preaching. 



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